JUDGMENT

JASWANT SINGH, J.:— This batch of 20 Civil Appeals Nos. 705 to 724 of 1971 by certificate under Article 133 (1) (a) of the Constitution which are directed against the common judgment dated September 3, 1970, of the High Court of Judicature at Patna and raise important questions relating mainly to interpretation and scope of Section 30-A of the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957 (Act 67 of 1957) (hereinafter referred to as the 1957 Act), shall be disposed of by this judgment.

2. Circumstances leading to these appeals in so far as they would be helpful in appreciating the points involved are : Prior to October 25, 1949, proprietors of big estates like Rajas of Ramgarh and Jharia granted, in exercise of their untrammelled discretion, mining leases of huge tracts of land in the districts of Hazaribagh, Dhanbad, and Singhbhum to various persons for winning and extracting coal for a period of 999 years in lieu of payment of premiums and fixed annual rental. There was in these leases either no stipulation for payment of royalty or the royalty stipulated for was very low. Except in a few cases, the lessees of these mining leases did not work the mines themsel