Writ interference with show cause notices is exceptional where disputed facts require statutory adjudication first

A writ of prohibition against a show cause notice alleging irregular DTA concession and inflated export sales was declined because the challenge depended on disputed factual issues, including export/value addition calculations and eligibility under the exemption notification. The Court applied the settled rule that interference with a mere notice is exceptional and is justified only when it is wholly without jurisdiction or plainly illegal. Since the alleged irregularity required adjudication by the competent authority, the petitioner was required to pursue the statutory process and could not bypass it at the threshold.

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Issues: Whether a writ of prohibition could be issued to restrain the revenue from proceeding with a show cause notice alleging irregular availment of DTA concession and inflated export sales, and whether the notice was liable to be interfered with at the threshold as being without jurisdiction or barred on the facts.

Analysis: The challenge was directed against a show cause notice and turned substantially on disputed factual questions, including the correctness of the export/value addition calculations and the alleged eligibility for concessional DTA clearances under the exemption notification. The availability of the writ remedy against a mere notice was tested against the settled principle that such interference is exceptional and is warranted only where the notice is wholly without jurisdiction or otherwise plainly illegal. As the alleged irregularity required factual adjudication by the competent authority, the Court held that the petitioner could not bypass the statutory adjudication process. The cited authorities on interference with show cause notices were distinguished on facts, as those matters had already been adjudicated through the statutory hierarchy.

Conclusion: The writ petition was not maintainable at that stage and the Court declined to prohibit the respondent from proceeding with adjudication of the show cause notice.

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