Krishan Pal Singh Vs Additional Commissioner Delhi West Commissionerate & Anr. (Delhi High Court)
Summary: The Delhi High Court disposed of the writ petition filed by Krishan Pal Singh against an Order-in-Original dated 31.01.2025 and Show Cause Notice dated 26.07.2024. The allegations against the petitioner were that he had created and controlled 13 firms through which Input Tax Credit amounting to Rs.30,50,13,190/- was allegedly passed on. The Adjudicating Authority had passed a common order against 81 noticees. The petitioner contended that the Order-in-Original was non-speaking and suffered from a jurisdictional error. He also challenged the applicability of the amended pre-deposit provisions under Sections 107(6) and 112(8) of the CGST Act, 2017.
The High Court noted that the petitioner admittedly had an alternative statutory remedy of appeal against the Order-in-Original. Since examining whether the findings in the more than 300-page adjudication order adequately dealt with the petitioner’s contentions would require examination of facts and merits, the Court declined to undertake that exercise in writ jurisdiction and relegated the petitioner to the statutory appellate remedy under Section 107 of the CGST Act.
On the issue of pre-deposit, however, the Court followed Gaurav Jain & Anr. v. Joint Commissioner (Appeals-II), CGST Delhi Zone & Anr., 2026:DHC:6124-DB. Since the Show Cause Notice in the petitioner’s case had been issued on 26.07.2024, before 01.10.2025, and the impugned order imposed only a penalty without raising any tax demand against him, the appellate remedy was held to be governed by Section 107(6) as it stood on the date of issuance of the Show Cause Notice.
