Confusion Over Listing after Orissa High Court Pauses GSTAT Judicial Member Selection
The petitioner contests that the Committee’s subsequent decision to recall a select group for another interaction was arbitrary
The Orissa High Court has hit the pause button on the selection of Judicial Members to the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), issuing an interim order that bars the Search-cum-Selection Committee from finalising appointments until the matter returns to court on 30 June 2025. The case was formally listed in the court’s printed cause list for 23 June 2025, but...
The Orissa High Court has hit the pause button on the selection of Judicial Members to the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), issuing an interim order that bars the Search-cum-Selection Committee from finalising appointments until the matter returns to court on 30 June 2025.
The case was formally listed in the court’s printed cause list for 23 June 2025, but the High Court’s online case-status portal showed 30 June as the “next hearing.” That discrepancy sowed uncertainty among lawyers, GSTAT Panel candidates and industry observers who have been closely tracking the long-delayed establishment of the GSTAT Principal Bench. Court officials have since corrected the website, confirming that Monday’s adjourned date is indeed 30 June.
At this admission stage, a division bench has issued notice on a writ petition filed by Bhubaneswar-based Advocate Pranaya Kishore Harichandan. He challenges the legality of an extra round of “personal interaction” that the Selection Committee arranged for only a handful of already-shortlisted candidates. The petitioner had applied for the post after a press release dated 15 February 2024 and took part in the initial interaction based on official emails annexed to his petition.
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He contended that the Committee’s subsequent decision to recall a select group for another interaction on 31 May 2025 breaches sub-rule (4) of Rule 3 of the GST Appellate Tribunal (Appointment and Conditions of Service of President and Members) Rules, 2023.
That provision, he argues, allows the committee to recommend names only after a single assessment; conducting a second, selective interview risks arbitrary “re-classification,” undermining both transparency and merit.
During the Friday’s brief hearing the Deputy Solicitor General of India sought time to obtain instructions and explain the rationale for the additional interviews, prompting the bench to grant a short adjournment while keeping the recruitment process in a holding pattern.
In its order, the court acknowledged a prima facie case in the petitioner’s favour. It permitted the administrative machinery to continue processing applications but expressly restrained the Selection Committee from taking any “final decision” pending further scrutiny.
The interim stay clouds the already-tight timeline for operationalising the GST Appellate Tribunal. The Principal Bench, slated to convene its first sitting on 1 July 2025, now appears unlikely to meet that target, leaving scores of pending indirect-GST appeals without a specialised forum and prolonging uncertainty for businesses across the country.
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