ORDER Leave granted in SLP (C) No. 18434 of 2002. We have repeatedly stated that as far as possible the High Courts should not interfere in matters at the show-cause notice stage. Without reply to the show-cause notice the appellants herein preferred original petitions before the Tamil Nadu Taxation Special Tribunal which decided the matters against the assessees. The assessees filed writ petitions against the order passed by the Special Tribunal in the High Court of Madras in which the impugned judgments have been delivered, against which these civil appeals have been filed. We find that the assessees have never replied to the show-cause notices till date. We are of the view that in such circumstances the Special Tribunal/High Court ought not to have interfered and they ought to have directed the assessee to reply to the show-cause notice and exhaust the statutory remedy under the Act, which they have not done till date. In the circumstances, to put an end to this controversy we, first of all, grant liberty to the Department to amend the show-cause notices and take up additional grounds, if so advised, within a period of eight weeks from today. They will accordingly give an opportunity to the assessees to reply to the amended show-cause notice as well as the original show-cause notice within a period of six weeks from the date of the assessees receiving the amended show-cause notice. On receiving replies from the assessees the assessing authority shall hear and dispose of the matters as expeditiously as possible in accordance with law and in accordance with the directions given hereinabove. We make it clear that the assessing authority will decide the matters uninfluenced by any observations made by the High Court/Tribunal in the earlier round of litigation. All contentions on both sides are expressly kept open. At this stage we do not wish to express any opinion on the merits of the case. The civil appeals are accordingly disposed of with no order as to costs.