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2026:BHC-OS:3717-DB 906WPL-1684-2026.DOC

Digitally

signed by

PRASHANT

PRASHANTVILAS

VILAS RANE

RANE D 20a 2te 6: .02.09 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

16:09:51

+0530

ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION

WRIT PETITION (L)NO. 1684 of 2026

Manisha Rajiv Shroff ...Petitioner

VS

The Union of India & Ors. ...Respondents

__________

Mr. Mihir Gupte, Mr. Mayank Jain and Ms. Pallavi Singh, for Petitioner.

Mr. Jitendra B. Mishra with Sangeeta Yadav, Mr. Rupesh Dubey, for Respondent

No.1-UOI.

Ms. Shruti Vyas with Niyati Mankad (thr.V.C.) with Priyanka Singh, for

Respondent Nos.2 to 5.

__________

CORAM: G. S. KULKARNI &

AARTI SATHE, JJ.

DATE: 5 February 2026.

P.C.

1. Rule returnable forthwith. Respondents waive service. By consent of

parties, heard finally.

2. This petition under Article 226 of the Constitution is filed praying for the

following substantive reliefs:

“a)Issue a Writ of Certiorari or a Writ in the nature of Certiorari or any other

appropriate Writ. Order or Direction under Article 226 of the Constitution of

India, calling for the records of its case insofar as they the Order-In-Original

No SG-relate to 83/DC/MSH/DIV-V/2023 dated 15.03.2023 being Exhibit

A passed by Respondent No. 4 and after going through the same and

examining the question of the legality thereof to quash and set aside the same;

(b) in consequence of the above this Hon ble Court may be pleased to issue a

Writ of Mandamus or a Writ in the nature of Mandamus or any other

appropriate Writ, Order or Direction under Article 226 of the Constitution of

India, ordering and directing Respondents, to withdraw, revoke and cancel the

Recovery Notice bearing F. No. CGST/MC/DN-V/Recovery of

Arr./343/2025-26 dated 31.10.2025;

c) issue a Writ of Prohibition or a Writ in the nature of Certiorari or any other

appropriate Writ, Order or Direction under Article 226 of the Constitution of

India, calling for the records of its case insofar as they relate to the Show Cause

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Notice No. 87/AC/DN-V/R-IV/MSH/2021-22 dated 27.10.2021 and after

going through the same and examining the question of the legality thereof to

quash and set aside the same;”

3. This petition challenges the order-in-original dated 15 March 2023 which

seeks to impose service tax on the petitioner who is an advocate by profession, in

regard to rendering of services by the petitioner as an advocate to a partnership

firm which is exempt from the levy of service tax. Consequent to the order-in-

original, recovery notice dated 31 October 2025 was issued to the petitioner

which creating a lien on the bank accounts of the petitioner. It is in these

circumstances, the petitioner approached this Court.

4. The facts lie in a narrow compass:- The petitioner is an advocate registered

with the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa since 5 February 2007. On 27

October 2021, a show cause notice was issued to the petitioner alleging mismatch

between the Income Tax Returns and Tax Deducted at Source data and Service

Tax-3 returns. Since the notice was dispatched on the old address of the

petitioner, the same was not received by the petitioner. Moreover, notices of three

personal hearings as scheduled, were also not received by the petitioner. It is in

these circumstances, the impugned order dated 15 March 2023 was passed

confirming the service tax liability alongwith the interest and penalty.

Consequent thereto, on 31 October 2025 a recovery notice under Section 87 of

the Finance Act, 1994 was issued and also on 3 November 2025 a lien was

created on the ICICI Bank account of the petitioner of which no notice was not

given to the petitioner. The petitioner also discovered that on 21 December

2025, the petitioner’s account with the Axis Bank was frozen and on 23

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December 2025 the petitioner accordingly obtained a copy