TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2023 (2) TMI 1322
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... to the various Government advisories issued during the Covid-19 pandemic. The prayers sought in the petition are as under: "(A) YOUR LORDSHIPS may be pleased to issue a writ of certiorari or a writ in the nature of certiorari or any other appropriate writ, order or direction holding the action of the concerned Respondents in charging the ground rent, demurrage and container detention charges, as illegal and contrary to Government advisories. (B) YOUR LORDSHIPS may be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus or a writ in the nature of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction directing the Respondents Nos. 5 to 8 to return/ restitute to the Petitioner Company amounts charged and recovered towards ground rent, demurrage and c....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....e transfer of the proceedings is warranted. We direct that Special Civil Application No 9046 of 2020 titled "M/s ARL Infratech Limited vs Union of India & Others" be transferred from the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad to the High Court of Delhi at New Delhi. 5. The Transfer Petition is accordingly disposed of. 6. The transferor court shall forthwith transmit the record of the aforesaid case to the transferee court. 7. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of." 3. Pursuant to the said order, the writ petition has been listed before this Court. 4. None appears for the Petitioners. Ld. Counsel for the Respondent Nos. 4 to 8-Mr. Udit Jain submits that the issues raised in this petition relate to various charges which ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... of record that some importers did, in fact, clear their consignments even during this period. Assessment of the extent to which any particular importer or exporter was impacted would, by its very nature, involve, inherently disputed questions of fact. The petitioners' stand is that, irrespective of the individual facts of each case, orders and circulars issued by the MOS, DGS and CBIC entitle all importers and exporters to amnesty as sought, across the board. Whether they do, or not, is required to be determined by us in these petitions.... ...44. There is another, more empirical, reason, why we are disinclined to grant of benefit to the petitioners. The ICDs and CFSs have come on record to state that many importers did actually have....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....vise the importers and exporters from seeking release of the consignments. Any such direction would also be intrinsically opposed to public interest, as it would result in clogging of the ICDs and CFSs by importers and exporters who, without having to pay any penal charges, would continue to enjoy the facility of storing their goods. This, in turn, would be contrary to the very objective of establishing CFSs, which was to unclog the ports. 46. These are all issues involving disputed questions of fact, not amenable to adjudication under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. It is not open to the Court-just as it was not open to the executive authorities-to approach the matter solely from the point of view of the importers or exporters,....