Writ petition becomes infructuous when Revenue disclaims coercive recovery and appellate tribunal remains available for relief.

Where the Revenue stated it would not take further coercive steps after learning that the assessee had filed an appeal and a further appeal was pending, the writ court found no surviving live controversy. It held that the same relief could be pursued before the appellate tribunal and therefore disposed of the writ petition as infructuous without granting substantive relief in the writ forum.

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Issues: Whether the writ petition challenging initiation of recovery proceedings survived in view of the Revenue's stand, and whether the petitioner should be relegated to the appellate tribunal for the relief sought.

Analysis: The petition assailed recovery action under the service tax recovery provision on the footing that no coercive steps should be taken during pendency of the appeal after the prescribed pre-deposit. The Revenue, in its counter affidavit, stated that it would not proceed further once it learnt that the assessee had filed an appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals), and the petitioner's further appeal was already pending before the appellate tribunal. In that situation, the Court treated the writ proceedings as having lost practical significance and noted that the same relief could be pursued before the tribunal where the appeal was pending.

Conclusion: The writ petition was rendered infructuous and no further relief was granted in the writ forum.

Final Conclusion: The matter was left to be pursued before the appellate tribunal, and the writ proceedings did not proceed on merits.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the respondent's stand removes the live controversy and an efficacious appellate forum is available for the same relief, the writ court may dispose of the proceeding as infructuous and decline to grant substantive relief.

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