Administrative relocation policy upheld where no illegality, arbitrariness, or procedural impropriety was shown; staff protected from forced displacement.
A policy-based relocation of the Chief Commissioner's office from Shillong to Guwahati was upheld because the Court found the administrative decision consistent with the GST-related reorganisation of tax formations and supported by efficiency, accessibility, connectivity, and public convenience. Applying the limited scope of judicial review, it held that interference was warranted only if the action was illegal, irrational, arbitrary, or procedurally improper, and found no such infirmity. The writ petition was dismissed, though the Court protected affected staff by directing that they be given an option to move to Guwahati or be accommodated in other offices in Shillong to avoid forced displacement.
Issues: Whether the decision to shift the Chief Commissioner's Office from Shillong to Guwahati, reflected in the impugned notifications and circular, was arbitrary, irrational, or contrary to the governing rules and amenable to interference under writ jurisdiction.
Analysis: The notifications on record showed a sequence of statutory reorganization and replacement of earlier territorial notifications, culminating in the impugned notification and the administrative instruction for shifting the office. The Court also noted that the GST regime required administrative reorganization of the Central Excise and Service Tax formations and that the relocation was justified on considerations of efficiency, taxpayer accessibility, connectivity, and public convenience. Applying the limited scope of judicial review over policy decisions, the Court held that it could interfere only if the action was illegal, irrational, arbitrary, or vitiated by procedural impropriety, and found no such infirmity in the decision-making process. The Court further directed that the concerned staff be given an option either to opt for Guwahati or to be accommodated in other Central Excise and Customs offices in Shillong to avoid forced dislocation.
Conclusion: The impugned decision was held to be valid and not liable to be quashed; the challenge failed.
Final Conclusion: The writ petition was dismissed, with only a protective direction regarding staff accommodation to avoid forced displacement.
Ratio Decidendi: A policy-based administrative decision to relocate an office will not be interfered with in writ jurisdiction unless it is shown to be illegal, irrational, arbitrary, or procedurally improper.
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