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Tax & Customs LawSupreme Court of India

Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India v. Union of India & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2018 INSC 365Decided 19 Apr 2018
Civil Appeal Nos. 4932-4934 of 2001
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Mohan M. Shantanagoudar · Justice Navin Sinha

Background

The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India had filed Civil Appeal Nos. 4932-4934 of 2001 against the Union of India, arising from a long-running dispute (tagged with several related appeals including one on expenditure/luxury tax matters involving hotels). The appeal had been pending before the Supreme Court along with a cluster of connected civil appeals and special leave petitions concerning similar issues between hotel bodies, tourism corporations, and the government.

Decision Breakdown

At the hearing on 19 April 2018, counsel for the appellant sought the Court's permission to withdraw the Civil Appeals on instructions from the client. The three-judge bench granted this permission and dismissed the Civil Appeals as withdrawn, finally disposing of these appeals, while the remaining tagged/connected matters in the batch were separately listed to continue on 2 May 2018.

Lesson Learnt

A litigant can bring their own appeal to a formal end at any stage simply by seeking the Court's leave to withdraw it; once granted, the appeal is finally and conclusively disposed of, even if other related cases in the same batch continue.

Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India v. Union of India & Ors. – Legal Case Shots | LegalAware