State Government refunds amount to assessee following court directions, rendering appeal consideration unnecessary but dispute remains unresolved

SC disposed of appeal after State Government complied with HC Division Bench directions by refunding amount to assessee. Court held that compliance rendered consideration of impugned order's correctness unnecessary. However, since underlying dispute remains unresolved, SC reserved liberty for appellants to seek recovery of refunded amount in accordance with law if they succeed in future proceedings.

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Issues involved:
- Appeal against order of Andhra Pradesh High Court at Hyderabad in W.P. No.4977/2009.
- Compliance with impugned order by State Government.
- Dispute between parties pending before Assessing Officer post remand by Division Bench.
- Refund made to respondent-assessee.
- Liberty reserved for appellants to seek recovery if successful.

Issue 1: Appeal against High Court order
The appeal was filed to challenge the order of Andhra Pradesh High Court at Hyderabad in W.P. No.4977/2009, which was subsequently prosecuted by the State of Telangana post the bifurcation of the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh.

Issue 2: Compliance with impugned order
The respondent submitted that the impugned order had been complied with by the State Government as the refund amount was already paid to the respondent. The correctness of the order was deemed unnecessary due to compliance.

Issue 3: Dispute pending before Assessing Officer
The main dispute between the parties was still pending before the Assessing Officer after the Division Bench remanded the matter for fresh assessment orders. The respondent highlighted that the final assessment order was yet to be passed.

Issue 4: Refund to respondent-assessee
It was acknowledged that the respondent-assessee had received the refund from the State Government, as recorded in an interim order dated 11.02.2010, pending the revision before the High Court.

Issue 5: Liberty reserved for recovery
In case the appellants were successful against the respondent-assessee, liberty was reserved for the appellants to seek recovery of the refunded amount in accordance with the law, as the order of the Assessing Officer was not considered final.

Separate Judgement:
- The Division Bench of the High Court for the State of Telangana at Hyderabad disposed of Tax Revision Cases in favor of the respondent-assessee on 24.08.2023.
- The appellants had the right to challenge the High Court's judgment before the Supreme Court, and any refund made to the respondent-assessee was subject to further orders by the Supreme Court.
- All contentions were kept open for future cases, and liberty was reserved for the appellants to seek recovery if successful in challenging the High Court's judgment.

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