The Delhi High Court has emphasized that Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities must empathetically consider an assessee’s request for adjournment of a personal hearing when it is based on valid medical grounds.
The judgment was delivered by a Division Bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Rajneesh Kumar Gupta in a writ petition filed by M/s Jai Optical. The petition challenged an order dated 8 January 2025, and the repeated issuance of show cause notices by the Delhi GST Department, despite the petitioner’s valid medical issues.
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Background of the Case
M/s Jai Optical, through its legal counsel, approached the court under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India. The challenge arose because a GST demand order of approximately ₹1.5 crore was passed without accommodating the petitioner’s request for adjournment of the personal hearing. The request was made on medical grounds as the firm’s proprietor, Mr. Vikas Garg, had suffered a brain stroke and was not in a condition to attend.
The matter involved three show cause notices (SCNs):
- The first SCN, dated 24 September 2023, resulted in an order on 29 November 2023. This order was earlier set aside by a Coordinate Bench in W.P.(C) 3823/2024 for non-consideration of a detailed reply submitted by the petitioner.
"The Proper Officer had to at least consider the reply submitted by the Petitioner on merits. He merely held that no reply has been filed, which shows non-application of mind." — Delhi High Court in W.P.(C) 3823/2024
- The second SCN, dated 3 May 2024, led to a reply on 16 May 2024, and eventually, the demand was dropped on 5 June 2024.
- The third SCN, dated 30 May 2024, was followed by a request for adjournment on 23 December 2024. This request, citing the proprietor’s serious health issue, was backed by hospital documents from Indraprastha Apollo Hospital. However, the GST Department ignored the request and issued the impugned demand order.
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The Court took note of the petitioner’s continued diligence in submitting replies and following up with the Department, despite health setbacks.
"There is no doubt that the Petitioner has been continuously following up with the Department and filing replies diligently. The medical ground which was stated on 23rd December 2024 ought to have been considered empathetically." — Delhi High Court
Further, the Court stated that:
"When such requests for adjournment are made on medical grounds, obviously the Department is expected to consider the same and not proceed to pass orders."
The High Court set aside the impugned GST order dated 8 January 2025 and directed that a fresh personal hearing must be granted to the petitioner. The Department was instructed to:
- Upload the hearing notice on the official portal.
- Provide an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner.
- Pass a fresh, lawful speaking order after the hearing.
"The Petitioner shall be afforded a hearing. The hearing notice shall be communicated to the Petitioner on the portal, and orders shall be passed in accordance with law."
It was clarified that the Court had not gone into the merits of the case, and the petition was disposed of accordingly.
Appearance: Sourabh Goel, Mr. Ankit Goel and Ms. Geetika Sharma, Advs. for Petitioner; Ms. Vaishali Gupta, Adv. for GNCTD.
Case title: M/s Jai Opticals v. GNCTD
Case no.: W.P.(C) 5300/2025
