Supreme Court Deprecates Practice Of Disposal Of Writ Petitions Without Deciding It On Merits

The Supreme Court deprecated the practice of disposal of writ petition without deciding it on merits.

The court reiterated that a High Court has a duty to deal with grounds/issues raised in a writ petition.

The bench comprising Justices M R Shah and B V Nagarathna was considering an appeal filed against Uttarakhand High Court judgment.

"The manner in which the High Court has dealt with and disposed of the writ petition without deciding the writ petition on merits cannot be appreciated at all. When a number of issues/grounds were raised in the writ petition, there was the duty cast upon the High Court to deal with the same and thereafter, to pass a reasoned order.", the bench observed while considering the appeal.

The court referred to a recent judgment in Vishal Ashwin Patel Vs. Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax 4 Circle 25(3) & Ors. 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 322 and observed:

"it was observed by this Court that when the Constitution confers on the High Courts the power to give relief, it becomes the duty of the High Courts to give such relief in appropriate cases and the High Courts would be failing to perform its duty if relief is refused without adequate reasons. It is further observed that in this case, the High Court in exercise of powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India was required to have independently considered the legality and validity of the order passed by the Tribunal which was under challenge before it. Neither any submission on merits is recorded nor is there any discussion on the merits of the matter on the order passed by the Tribunal. There is no application of mind at all by the High Court on merits of the order passed by the Tribunal. It can be seen that the High Court has failed to exercise its jurisdiction vested in it while exercising the powers under Article 226/227 of the Constitution of India."

Observing thus, the bench allowed the appeal and remanded the case to High Court for fresh consideration.

Case details

State of Uttarakhand vs Mayan Pal Singh Verma | 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 388 | CA 2905 OF 2022 | 19 April 2022

Coram: Justices M R Shah and B V Nagarathna

Headnotes

Constitution of India, 1950 ; Article 226 - When a number of issues/grounds were raised in the writ petition, there is a duty cast upon the High Court to deal with the same and thereafter, to pass a reasoned order. [Referred to Vishal Ashwin Patel Vs. Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax 4 Circle 25(3) & Ors 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 322 ]

Summary - Appeal against Uttarakhand HC order which disposed a writ petition filed without deciding it on merits - Allowed and remanded - The order is bereft of reasoning as diverse grounds were urged/raised by the parties which ought to have been examined by the High Court in the first place and a clear finding was required to be recorded upon analysing the relevant documents.

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