ORDER

Late Dr. Sarojini Pradhan, whose heirs are impleaded as respondent Nos. 3 to 8 herein (collectively called hereafter as private respondents , for the sake of convenience) was holding a mining lease over an area of 163.4723 hectares in village Banarai for extraction of lime stone and dolomite. Late Dr. Sarojini Pradhan committed breach of terms and conditions of the mining lease in her favour consequent whereupon the State Government determined her lease and called for fresh applications vide a notification dated 3rd December, 1977. The termination of the mining lease held by late Dr. Sarojini Pradhan is now only a matter of past history inasmuch as that termination has achieved a finality and is not in dispute in the present proceedings.

2. Pursuant to the notification dated 3rd December, 1977, nine applications came to be submitted for the grant of mining lease in terms of sub-sections (2) and (3) of Section 11 of the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957. The appellant before us and late Dr. Sarojini Pradhan were also amongst the applicants. Having scrutinised all the applications, the Director of Mines, on 31st January, 1979, recommended the mining lease