Supreme Court upholds dismissal of writ, directs taxpayers to pursue statutory tax appeal, protects auction proceeds

SC dismissed the SLP, upholding the HC's refusal to entertain the writ petition on the ground of availability of an efficacious statutory appeal under the tax regime. The dispute concerned alleged discrepancy in quantity of goods, absence of bill of supply/tax invoice, and lack of proof of payment. The HC's directions were affirmed, including that appellants file a statutory appeal within the stipulated time, the auction proceeds be retained by the department in an interest-bearing account subject to appellate outcome, and appellants be allowed to participate in the auction.

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The Supreme Court, exercising its jurisdiction under Article 136, declined to interfere with the "impugned orders passed by the High Court." After hearing learned counsel for the petitioners and examining the materials on record, the Court recorded that it found "no good ground to interfere" with the High Court's decision. Consequently, the Special Leave Petitions were dismissed, thereby affirming the High Court's orders without modification or remand. The Court did not elaborate further on the factual matrix or legal issues raised, indicating that the case did not merit detailed scrutiny at the special leave stage. All pending applications were also disposed of as a consequence of the dismissal.

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