Maharashtra Medical Council Vs Union of India & Ors. (Bombay High Court)
In Maharashtra Medical Council Vs Union of India & Ors., the Bombay High Court examined the validity of an appellate order rejecting a GST appeal due to non-payment of the mandatory pre-deposit. The petitioner challenged the order dated 27 June 2025 passed by the appellate authority, which had dismissed its appeal against a demand of ₹10.27 crore raised under Section 74 of the CGST Act. The petitioner contended that the original adjudication order dated 25 November 2024 was not served or uploaded on the GST portal, causing difficulty in filing the appeal. Despite communicating these issues and filing the appeal on 28 March 2025, the appellate authority rejected it solely on the ground of non-payment of pre-deposit.
The petitioner, a statutory body constituted under the Maharashtra Medical Council Act, 1965, submitted before the Court that it was now ready and willing to make the required pre-deposit to enable adjudication of the appeal on merits. Considering the facts, the Court observed that the petitioner performs public functions and should be given an opportunity to comply with the pre-deposit requirement.
Accordingly, the Court set aside the appellate authority’s order rejecting the appeal and permitted the petitioner to deposit the requisite amount within three weeks. Upon such deposit, the appeal was directed to be restored and adjudicated on merits without raising objections on limitation. The Court also clarified that all contentions of the parties remain open. The writ petition was partly allowed with no order as to costs.
