Judgment

T. L. VENKATARAMA AIYAR, J. : (On behalf of S. R. Das, CJI., S. K. Das and Gajendragadkar JJ. and himself.) Messrs. Dalmia Dadri Cement Co. Ltd. which is the appellant in Civil Appeal No. 230 of 1954 and the petitioner in Petition No. 276 of 1953, is a public Company engaged in the manufacture and sale of cement at a place called Dadri situate in what was once the independent State of Jind. On April 1, 1938, one Shanti Prasad Jain, a promoter of the above company, obtained certain concessions from the Ruler of Jind under an agreement, Ex. A, and as it is this document that forms the basis of the present claim of the appellant, it is necessary to refer to the material terms thereof. Clause (1) of the agreement grants to the licensee, Shanti Prasad Jain, "the sole & exclusive monopoly right of manufacturing cement in the Jind State", and for that purpose he is authorised in Cl. (2) to "win and work all quarries, strata, seams and beds of kankar, rorey, limestone or other like materials". Under Cl. (7), the licence is to last for a period of 25 years with option for successive renewals. Clause (10) requires that a public limited company should be formed before July 21, 1936, t