JUDGMENT

JASWANT SINGH, J.:— The appellants who are Directors of Tandur and Navandgi Stone Quarries Private Limited and holders of a mining lease for extraction of lime stones (shahabad stones) are being prosecuted in the Court of Munsif, Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Tandur, for the alleged violation of R. 21 (1) (ii) of the Mineral Conservation and Development Rules, 1958 which is made punishable under R. 27 of the said Rules in that they failed to employ a qualified geologist or a mining engineer. They made an application before the trial Magistrate urging by way of preliminary objection that the complaint against them was not maintainable in view of the fact that the Shahabad Stones which were being extracted by them were used for building and construction purposes and as such were minor minerals which were specifically excluded from the purview of the Rules. The Magistrate dismissed the application holding that what was being operated by the appellants was a mine for the purpose of the provisions of R. 21 of the Mineral Conservation and Development Rules, 1958. The appellants thereupon moved the High Court for quashing the aforesaid criminal proceedings pending against the