Detention order must rest on original recorded grounds; shifting to a new basis makes the action unsustainable.

A statutory detention action must be judged on the reasons originally recorded, and those reasons cannot later be replaced by a fresh and inconsistent basis. The detention here was first founded on the alleged absence of valid documents accompanying the goods, but the show-cause notice shifted to a different allegation concerning suppliers reflected in GSTR 2A. Because the Revenue changed the foundation of the action, the detention order and all consequential proceedings were held unsustainable and liable to be quashed, with release of the goods and vehicle directed in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the detention order and the subsequent show-cause notice were sustainable when the ground for detention was changed at the stage of notice and no longer matched the original basis recorded in the detention order.

Analysis: The detention was initially founded on the allegation that the goods were not accompanied by valid documents. The show-cause notice, however, did not continue that basis and instead introduced a different allegation relating to the status of suppliers reflected in GSTR 2A. A statutory order must stand or fall on the reasons originally recorded, and those reasons cannot later be replaced or supplemented by a fresh and inconsistent basis. Since the Revenue altered the foundation of the action, the detention and all consequential proceedings were rendered unsustainable.

Conclusion: The detention order and the subsequent show-cause notice were illegal and liable to be quashed, in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded, and the goods and vehicle were directed to be released.

Ratio Decidendi: An administrative or statutory action must be judged on the grounds originally recorded, and it cannot be sustained by later substitution of a different reason.

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