Goa Value Added Tax (12th Amendment) Act, 2020 is an impermissible judicial override defying doctrine of separation of powers

Rohan Lobo Vs State of Goa (Bombay High court)

Bombay High Court held that the Goa Value Added Tax (12th Amendment) Act, 2020 is an impermissible judicial override defying the doctrine of separation of powers. Accordingly, respondents, based on the same, cannot deny any of the petitioners the benefits of earlier judicial decisions.

Facts- The petitioners in this batch of petitions challenge the non- implementation of this Court’s decisions in Writ Petition No.424 of 2018 and connected matters despite Special Leave Petitions against the same being dismissed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court on the specious plea that such decisions “stand nullified” or are “rendered ineffective” after the passage of the Goa Value Added Tax (12th Amendment) Act, 2020 (impugned Amendment Act). In the alternative, the petitioners challenge the constitutional validity of the impugned Amendment Act on several grounds, including legislative override, legislative competence, manifest arbitrariness, etc.

Conclusion- Thus, we hold that the impugned Amendment Act is an impermissible judicial override defying the doctrine of separation of powers. Moreover, by granting retrospective effect to the impugned Amending Act, the vested constitutional rights of the petitioners have been taken away. On these two grounds and without relying on prima facie findings on the other issues, we hold that the respondents cannot, based upon the impugned Amending Act, deny any of the petitioners the benefits of the earlier judicial decisions in Writ Petition No.424/2018 and connected matters. The SLPs against such decisions were already dismissed. These Judicial decisions have neither been nullified nor rendered ineffective based on the impugned Amendment Act.

Accordingly, we allow these petitions and direct the respondents to implement the judicial decisions in the earlier Writ Petitions instituted by the petitioners within four weeks

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