Court: Calcutta High Court
Case Title: Jagannath Trading vs. State of West Bengal & Ors.
Petition Number: MAT 296 of 2025 with CAN/1/2025, CAN/2/2025, CAN/3/2025
Date of Judgment: 08.04.2025
Category of Dispute: Detention & Release of Conveyance and Goods
Relevant Sections: Section 129(1) and 129(3) of the WBGST Act, 2017 read with CGST Act, 2017
Facts of the Case (Para 1–2)
The appellant filed an intra-court appeal challenging the refusal of interim relief by a Single Bench in a writ petition concerning detention of a vehicle and Areca-nuts. During the pendency of the appeal, the appellant received a show-cause notice under Section 129(1) of the WBGST/CGST Act and submitted a reply, which was sought to be brought on record through CAN/3/2025. The State submitted that a final order under Section 129(3) dated 06.12.2024 had been issued.
Questions in Consideration (Para 3–4)
-
Whether the detained vehicle carrying 17,760 kg of Areca-nuts should be released?
-
What interim relief can be granted for the perishable nature of the goods in question pending disposal of the writ petition?
Observations of the Court (Para 3–4)
-
The Court noted the risk of physical deterioration of the detained TATA truck and held that continued detention may reduce it to scrap.
-
The Areca-nuts, being perishable, have limited shelf life and would become unfit for human consumption if not dealt with swiftly.
-
Therefore, interim directions were necessary to prevent irreparable loss.
Judgment of the Court (Para 3–6)
-
Vehicle Release: The vehicle shall be released within 3 days of payment of ₹1,00,000 by the appellant to the concerned authority.
-
Goods (Areca-nuts): Directed the department to sell the 222 bags of Areca-nuts at the best possible price within 15 days and deposit the sale proceeds in a separate account, subject to writ outcome. Appellant is allowed to participate in auction proceedings.
-
Further Proceedings: Appellant is granted liberty to file a fresh application in the pending writ petition to bring subsequent events and additional grounds on record.
-
The appeal and all connected applications were disposed of accordingly.
Between Fine Lines
-
Vehicle detained under GST proceedings must not be left idle, as it may deteriorate.
-
Perishable goods should not be allowed to rot during pendency of litigation.
-
Interim directions can be granted even while the writ petition is pending to prevent wastage.
-
Section 129 of the CGST/WBGST Act allows State to initiate detention, but judicial oversight is essential.
-
Appellants retain the right to raise all their grounds before the Single Bench.
Summary of Referred Cases
(No external case citations were referred to in the judgment.)