Home Case Index All Cases Central Excise Central Excise + HC Central Excise - 2024 (4) TMI HC This
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2024 (4) TMI 904 - ALLAHABAD HIGH COURTMaintainability of petition - alternative appeal - waiver of pre-deposit - seeking the petitioner be relegated to appeal jurisdiction under Section 86 of the Finance Act, 1994 and direct the Tribunal to grant waiver of pre-deposit - HELD THAT:- An alternative efficacious remedy is available to the petitioner wherein, the petitioner has already filed his appeal. The very fact that the petitioner has already filed the appeal, precludes this Court from now examining this matter in writ jurisdiction. The petitioner cannot be allowed to be sitting on the fence. The filing of this petition is nothing but an after thought as the petitioner wants to escape the liability of payment of pre-deposit, which is mandated by law. In a catena of judgements, the Supreme Court and various High Courts have categorically held that the condition of the pre-deposit cannot be waved/modified by the High Court in its extraordinary discretionary writ jurisdiction. Any discretion to be exercised by the writ Court is judicial in nature and is required to be exercised only in accordance with law. If the High Courts were to interfere/tinker with the amount of pre-deposit to be deposited, the entire provision of pre-deposit would become otiose. A Division Bench of this Court in Shri Subhash Jain v. Commissioner of Central Goods And Service Tax [2023 (4) TMI 52 - ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT] has categorically held that in case of Central Excise Act the Courts does not have the power to waive the pre- deposit. The Division Bench of Bombay High Court in Kantilal Bhaguji Mohite v. Commr of C. Excise & Service Tax, Pune-III [2019 (2) TMI 1029 - BOMBAY HIGH COURT] has similarly laid down the ratio with regard to waiver of pre-deposit. The judgements in Shri Subhash Jain and Kantilal Bhaguji Mohite are binding - this petition has no merit - petition dismissed.
|