W.P.(C) 2596/2024 $~32 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI # CNR No. DLHC010080882024 + W.P.(C) 2596/2024 & CM APPL. 10694/2024 SSRA AND CO. CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT .....Petitioner Through: Dr. Amit George, Mr. Nitesh Mehra, Mr. Zubin M. John, Ms.Medhavi Bhatia, Mr.Vaibhav Gandhi, Mr. Arnav Bhansali, Mr. Adhiswar Suri, Ms. Muskan Shalya, Ms.Rupam Jha, Ms. Tanushree Gupta, Mr.Kartikay Puneesh, Mr.Dushyant K. Kaul and Mr.Amal, Advocates. versus UNION OF INDIA & ANR. .....Respondents Through: Mr. Himanshu Pathak, Mr. Mohit Gupta and Mr. Kunal Rai, Advocates. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AMIT MAHAJAN O R D E R % 24.09.2026 1. This writ petition is filed by the petitioner challenging the orders dated 29.03.2023 and 06.04.2023 (‘impugned order’), passed by Respondent No.2/Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority, Government of India, thereby cancelling the empanelment of the petitioner for warehouse inspection on an anonymous complaint. 2. The impugned order was passed after issuing a show cause notice dated 25.02.2022, which reads as under: This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 25/09/2026 at 11:57:52 W.P.(C) 2596/2024 3. It is apparent that by the show cause notice, the respondent had asked for an explanation stating that one of the inspecting officers of the petitioner has been reported to be asking of pecuniary benefits from the warehouse seeking registration with the Respondent No. 2. 4. In the opinion of this Court, the content of the show cause This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 25/09/2026 at 11:57:52 W.P.(C) 2596/2024 notice are not such that could have elicited an effective response as the same does not furnish any details regarding the foundation of allegations or the material relied upon. 5. Pursuant to the notice issued by this Court, counter affidavit has been filed by the respondent wherein certain allegations against the petitioner have been made. It is the submitted that anonymous complaint was received regarding the employee(s) of the petitioner demanding illegal gratification and an audio recording was also sent to the department, which was further verified from one forensic laboratory. 6. The above material, forming the very basis of the impugned action, concededly was not provided to the petitioner so as to enable them to file appropriate reply to the show cause notice. 7. Considering the above, the impugned order(s) are suspended and the respondents are directed to pass an order afresh, after providing the material to the petitioner, which the respondents had relied upon to take the action, and afford the petitioner an opportunity to file reply. The respondent shall also grant an opportunity of personal hearing to the petitioner before passing an order. This exercise is expected to be completed within a period of 6 weeks from date. 8. The petition stands disposed of in the aforesaid terms. AMIT MAHAJAN, J SEPTEMBER 24, 2026 DU This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 25/09/2026 at 11:57:52