2022 (5) TMI 387

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....dated 24th November, 1990 of the Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax (ACST), Sambalpur in AA 672 of 1987-88 confirming the assessment made under Section 12(8) of the Orissa Sales Tax Act, 1947 (OST Act) by the Sales Tax Officer, Sambalpur I Circle, Sambalpur for the year 1984-85. 2. By an order dated 6th March, 1998 the Tribunal has, in an application, filed under Section 24(1) of the OST Act referred to three questions for consideration by this Court of which the following question is taken up first for hearing: "Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the proceeding in Second Appeal is not vitiated on account of association and/or order being passed by Accounts Members-I who earlier had passed an order in th....

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....sed by the Tribunal rejecting the dealer's appeal shows the coram as including Sri B.D. Pattnaik as Accounts Member-I in a three Judge Bench, which included its Chairman and Judicial Member. 6. This Court has heard the submissions of Mr. Sidhartha Ray, learned counsel for the Petitioner and Sri S.S. Padhy, learned Addl. Standing Counsel for the Department. 7. It was argued by Sri Padhy that the order passed earlier by Sri Pattanaik was in a stay application whereas the final order was in the appeal itself. Therefore, according to him, the plea of bias is not well-founded. 8. The issue is about likelihood of bias and not actual bias. As explained in J. Mohapatra & Company v. State of Odisha AIR 1984 SC 1572, the governing rule a....