Judgement

RAGHUBAR DAYAL, J. : This appeal, on certificate granted by the Rajasthan High Court, raises the question of the applicability of the provisions of Chapter IV and thereby of R. 30 of the Rajasthan Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1955, hereinafter called the rules, to the grants of mining leases under the provisions of Chapter V of the rules.

2. The facts leading to this appeal are briefly these. The respondent obtained the mining lease for extracting sand-stone from the mines in certain area from the Government of Rajasthan in 1956. The lease was granted as a result of auction. The period of the lease was from April 1, 1956 to July 31, 1959. The respondent applied for extension of the period upto two years in view of the mandatory nature of the main provision of R. 30 and simultaneously also applied for the renewal of the lease for a further period in accordance with the provisions of the proviso to R. 30. The first prayer was refused and the State Government extended the period of the lease at first by six months and later by another two months. The respondent thereafter filed a writ petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution in the High Court and prayed for issue of a wr