Anuj Ranjan vs. Union of India
Background
The petitioner had filed this writ petition raising certain issues of fact and law against the Union of India, along with an earlier-granted interim order. Before the case could be argued on merits, his Senior Counsel sought the Court's permission to withdraw the petition, on the express understanding that all the legal and factual issues raised in it would remain open for the petitioner to raise again later if the need arose.
Decision Breakdown
The Court allowed the withdrawal application, disposing of the writ petition as withdrawn with liberty to the petitioner to raise the same issues at a later stage if necessary, and consequently vacated the interim order that had earlier been granted in his favour.
Lesson Learnt
A petitioner is free to withdraw a case at any stage before final judgment, and if withdrawal is granted "with liberty to raise the issues again," the substantive dispute is not finally decided one way or the other, only the immediate proceeding, and any interim protection tied to it, comes to an end.