TMI Blog2019 (4) TMI 1398X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ring of the parties who make such representations. Learned counsel for the writ petitioners has not brought to our notice any provision in the Constitution or any other statute which imposes a duty on the Goods and Services Tax Council to adjudicate on the grievances raised by the members of the general public with regard to imposition and levy of goods and services tax on any product. Article 226 of the Constitution provides that every High Court shall have power to issue to any person or authority orders and writs including a writ in the nature of mandamus for the enforcement of any of the rights conferred by Part III of the Constitution and for any other purpose. It is well-settled that a mandamus lies to secure the performance of a p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ealth Department of the State. 2. On 01.08.2017, respondents 1 to 3 in the writ appeal, filed W.P.(C) No.25613/2017 before this Court for issuing a writ of mandamus to the Goods and Services Tax Council to dispose of Ext.P2 representation at the earliest, at any rate within two weeks and also to issue a writ of mandamus to the other respondents in the writ petition to dispose of Exts.P1, P3 and P4 representations within a time to be fixed by this Court, after hearing the petitioners. 3. As per the impugned judgment dated 02.08.2017, a learned Single Judge of this Court disposed of the writ petition directing the Goods and Services Tax Council to consider and pass orders on Ext.P2 representation within a perio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ions from the general public and to conduct personal hearings and to pass orders on such representations and therefore, a writ of mandamus as issued by this Court in the impugned judgment, will not lie against the Council. We find considerable force in this contention. 7. Article 279A was inserted in the Constitution of India by way of the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016 with effect from 16.09.2016. Article 279A(2) provides that the Goods and Services Tax Council shall consist of the Union Finance Minister as the Chairperson and the Union Minister of State in charge of Revenue or Finance and the Minister in charge of Finance or Taxation or any other Minister nominated by each State Government as memb ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand; and ( h) any other matter relating to the goods and services tax, as the Council may decide. 9. Sub-clause (6) of Article 279A of the Constitution states that while discharging the functions, the Goods and Services Tax Council shall be guided by the need for a harmonised structure of goods and services tax and for the development of a harmonised national market for goods and services. Sub-clause (11) provides that the Goods and Services Tax Council shall establish a mechanism to adjudicate any dispute (a) between the Government of India and one or more States; or (b) between the Government of India and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... m, a command directed to a person or authority to do a particular thing pertains to his or its office and in the nature of a public duty. In order to issue a writ of mandamus to compel a party to do something, it must be shown that the statute imposes a legal duty upon that party and that the person seeking the writ has a legal right under the statute to enforce its performance. The writ of mandamus is limited to the enforcement of the obligation imposed by law. 12. Ext.P2 representation was sent by the writ petitioners to the Goods and Services Tax Council, through post, on 27.07.2017. Exts.P1, P3 and P4 representations were sent by them, through post, to the Central and the State Governments and the Secretary of the Health ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t of India v. P.Venkatesh (judgment dated 01.03.2019 in Civil Appeal No.2425 of 2019), the Apex Court has observed as follows: This dispose of the representation mantra is increasingly permeating the judicial process in the High Courts and the Tribunals. Such orders may make for a quick or easy disposal of cases in overburdened adjudicatory institutions. But, they do no service to the cause of justice . 15. After the conclusion of the hearing in the appeal, learned counsel for the appellant produced before us the copy of the decision rendered by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Limited v. Securities and Exchange Board of India : AIR 2012 SC 3829 = ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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