The Allahabad High Court has directed a lower court to hear the case of a retired employee who was subjected to a departmental inquiry six years after his retirement over irregularities in Goods and Services Tax ( GST ).
V.K. Mishra, a former Secretary/General Manager of U.P. Cooperative Spinning Mills Limited, Kanpur, retired in 2016. In 2022, a complaint was filed against him alleging irregularities related to Goods and Services Tax ( GST ) during his service tenure. The Sales Tax Department initiated proceedings and conducted an ex-parte preliminary inquiry in December 2023 without informing the petitioner.
The petitioner challenged this inquiry through a writ petition, arguing that the department bypassed proper procedures and violated his right to be heard, a fundamental principle of natural justice. The writ petition was initially dismissed on grounds of being premature.
The petitioner, represented by Ravi Pratap Singh, appealed the dismissal and submitted that the order impugned passed by the Single Judge is per se unsustainable as the Authority had proceeded ex-parte against the petitioner and held the preliminary inquiry.
The High Court bench, comprising Justices Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Anish Kumar Gupta, agreed with the petitioner’s arguments. The court found that no opportunity was given to the appellant before holding the preliminary inquiry, and such a decision taken in violation of the principle of natural justice would be void.
Citing the Supreme Court judgement in Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association vs. Designated Authority, the court emphasised the importance of a fair hearing before taking any action with potential civil consequences.
Consequently, the bench set aside the order dismissing the writ petition and directed the lower court to consider the matter on its merits.
Subscribe Taxscan Premium to view the JudgmentSupport our journalism by subscribing to Taxscan premium. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates
