Facts of the Case

A group of civil contractors — Ramakrishna Vara Prasad, Lanka Lithish, and others associated with a Water Users' Association in Krishna District — had executed multiple works for the Irrigation Department of Andhra Pradesh under eleven separate agreements dated between 2018 and 2019, together totalling Rs. 79,93,066, inclusive of 12% GST.

Alleging non-payment of these completed-work bills despite the passage of time, the contractors filed Writ Petition No. 24628 of 2021 before the Andhra Pradesh High Court seeking a mandamus for release of the dues, with GST and interest, as illegal and violative of Articles 14, 16 and 21 of the Constitution.

The Court had earlier passed an order dated 28 March 2022 in the matter directing payment.

When the writ petition was subsequently listed for hearing, counsel for the petitioners informed the Court that the earlier order had already been complied with — the respondents had paid the entire amount claimed.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether any further orders were required in the writ petition once the respondents had complied with the Court's earlier direction to pay the outstanding bills.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The petitioners' counsel confirmed to the Court that the order dated 28 March 2022 had been complied with, and the total amount due had been paid by the respondents.
  • As a result, no cause survived and no further orders were necessary in the writ petition.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The Government Pleader for the respondents also confirmed compliance with the Court's earlier order and payment of the amounts due.

Court Order / Findings

  • In view of the joint submission confirming compliance, the writ petition was closed as having become infructuous.
  • No order as to costs was passed, and pending miscellaneous petitions were closed.

Important Clarification

This is a compliance-closure order following an earlier substantive direction (the 28 March 2022 order, not itself under review here) — it records payment of an already-agreed sum inclusive of GST, but does not decide or interpret any point of GST law. It illustrates how contract-payment writs are typically closed once the department complies.

Sections Involved

  • Constitution of India, 1950 — Articles 14, 16, 21 and Article 226 (writ jurisdiction), invoked in the original petition.
  • Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 — Section 151, under which the interim application was filed.
  • Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 — referenced only as the 12% GST component of the contractually due bill amount, not itself adjudicated.

Decision – In Favour of

Effectively decided in favour of the petitioners, whose dues (including the GST component) had already been paid pursuant to an earlier order of the Court; the present order simply closed the matter as infructuous.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Andhra Pradesh at Amaravati
  • Case No.: Writ Petition No. 24628 of 2021
  • Coram: Justice Venkateswarlu Nimmagadda
  • Date of Order: 31 July 2023

Link to Download the Order

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