Settlement application admission not interfered with in writ jurisdiction where full and true disclosure remains open for final scrutiny.

An order admitting a settlement application is not ordinarily liable to interference in writ jurisdiction merely because the Settlement Commission has not made a final admission-stage finding on full and true disclosure. The requirement of full and true disclosure remains fundamental, but where the Commission cannot reach a firm conclusion on the material then available, it may reserve that issue for determination at final disposal. The Revenue may still challenge the sufficiency and genuineness of the disclosure before final orders are passed. On those facts, the writ challenge was premature and no jurisdictional or legal error was shown to justify interference.

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Issues: Whether an order admitting a settlement application could be interfered with in writ jurisdiction on the ground that the Settlement Commission had not recorded a specific finding at the admission stage that the applicant had made a full and true disclosure of liability.

Analysis: The impugned order merely admitted the settlement application and left the question of full and true disclosure open for examination at the stage of final disposal. The requirement of full and true disclosure is undoubtedly fundamental to settlement, but it need not be conclusively determined at the threshold in every case. Where the Commission is unable to reach a firm conclusion on the materials before it, it may reserve the issue for later consideration and the Revenue remains free to contest the sufficiency and genuineness of the disclosure before final orders are passed. The proceedings under the settlement scheme require the disclosure to remain full and true to the satisfaction of the Commission throughout, but that does not make an express admission-stage finding a condition precedent in every instance.

Conclusion: The writ challenge to the admission order was premature, and no jurisdictional or legal error was shown warranting interference.

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