AKIL KURESHI, J.

1. The petitioners have challenged the action of the respondent authorities refusing to refund a sum of Rs.3,59,100/- paid by the petitioners for availing the benefit of an amnesty scheme. The petitioners seek refund of such amount with interest.

2. Brief facts are as under. Petitioner no.1 is a proprietary concern. Petitioner no.2 is the proprietor of the said concern. The petitioners proprietary concern are dealing in oil and cattle feed. For the assessment year 2002-2003, the tax department had raised certain tax demands against the petitioners which the petitioners had challenged in the appeal. Pending such appeal, for the later years, the petitioners had to receive refund from the department. Somewhere in the year 2012, such refund amount was first adjusted against the petitioners' dues for the year 2002-2003 and thereafter, residue of the refund was released.

3. On 2.4.2012, the Government came up with an amnesty scheme offering settlement opportunity to range of dealers whose cases were pending at various stages, mainly making exclusion in case of tax evaders. As per this scheme, if the dealer paid the disputed tax amount, interest and penalty would b