Court No. - 3
Case :- WRIT - C No. - 29572 of 2019 Petitioner :- Abdul Quadir Ansari Respondent :- State Of U P And 4 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Nikhil Kumar,Prashant Kanha Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
Hon'ble Dr. Yogendra Kumar Srivastava,J.
Heard Sri Nikhil Kumar, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and Sri Mata Prasad, learned Standing Counsel appearing for the State respondents.
The present petition seeks to challenge the order dated 10.7.2019 passed by the respondent no. 4 in exercise of powers under the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1996 (in short 'the Cess Act') and also the recovery proceedings initiated pursuant thereto.
Contention of the counsel for the petitioner is that despite a specific ground having been taken by the petitioner in his objections dated 14.5.2019 filed in response to the show cause notice dated 26.4.2019 to the effect that no construction work had been carried out by the petitioner in the premises in question for the past 16-17 years and the provisions of the Cess Act were not applicable, the respondent no. 4 has passed the order impugned without adverting to the aforesaid objections. It is accordingly submitted that the entire proceedings are without jurisdiction and cannot be sustained.
Learned Standing Counsel appearing for the State respondents has not been able to point out from the order impugned that the objections of the petitioner with regard to the applicability of the Cess Act have been adverted to by the respondent no. 4 while passing the order impugned.
In view of the aforestated facts, the counsel for the petitioner makes a prayer that he may be granted some time to submit his objections afresh to the show cause notice dated 26.4.2019 issued by the respondent no. 4 and prays that the same may be decided.
Learned Standing Counsel appearing for the State respondents has fairly stated that he has no objections to the prayer so made.
Having regard to the facts of the case and looking into the interests of justice, the order dated 10.7.2019 having been passed by the respondent no. 4 without adverting to the objections of the petitioner with regard to the applicability of the Cess Act, the same is set aside granting liberty to the petitioner to submit his objections afresh within a period of two weeks from today and it is expected that the respondent no. 4 would endeavour to decide the same within a period of four weeks thereafter in accordance with law.
The writ petition is disposed of in the aforesaid terms.
It is made clear that this Court has not adjudicated on the merits of the claim raised by the petitioner and the respondent authority may pass the order independent of any observation made herein above.
Order Date :- 26.9.2019 Pratima (Dr.Y.K.Srivastava,J.)