Orissa HC Rejected Entry Tax Challenge Due to No Prior Writ Filing

Tata Sponge Iron Ltd. Vs State of Odisha & Ors. (Orissa High Court)

The writ petition before the Orissa High Court sought to strike down the Odisha Entry Tax Act, 1999 and the rules framed thereunder, and to direct refund of entry tax collected from the petitioner. The petitioner relied on the decision of the Supreme Court of India in State of Kerala and others vs. Fr. William Fernandez, decided on 09.10.2017, wherein the Supreme Court granted liberty to certain petitioners to revive earlier writ petitions before the Orissa High Court to raise a plea of discrimination under Article 304(a) of the Constitution, in light of the law laid down by the Nine-Judge Bench in Jindal Stainless Ltd.. The Supreme Court clarified that such liberty could be exercised only by reviving writ petitions that had been filed earlier before the High Court and only within a specified time.

Read SC Judgment: Odisha Entry Tax Dispute Cannot Be Reopened Through New Petition: SC

The High Court noted that the petitioner, although a party before the Supreme Court, had not been a party to any earlier writ petition before the Orissa High Court challenging the entry tax. The liberty granted by the Supreme Court was confined to revival of writ petitions already dismissed by the High Court and did not extend to filing fresh writ petitions at a later stage. Since the petitioner had not approached the High Court earlier and was seeking relief through a fresh writ petition, the Court held that the relief claimed could not be granted.