JUDGMENT

P.K. BALASUBRAMANYAN, J.

1. M/s Indian Charge Chrome Limited (hereinafter referred to as, "I.C.C.L.") has challenged the decision of the Orissa High Court in O.J.C. No. 1830 of 1999 in Civil Appeal Nos. 8501 and 8502 of 2002. In Transferred Case (C) No. 9 of 2002, which was withdrawn to this Court from the High Court of Delhi, the same Company had challenged by way of C.W.P. No. 4230 of 2001 the grant of approval for what it called an out of turn lease to M/s Nava Bharat Ferro Alloys Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as, "Nava Bharat"), respondent No. 3 in the Civil Appeals. Whereas, the Writ Petitions in the Orissa High Court challenged the recommendation of the State Government, the Writ Petition in the Delhi High Court challenged the grant of approval by the Central Government to the lease in favour Nava Bharat.

2. M/s GMR Technologies & Industries Limited (hereinafter referred to as, "GMR") filed O.J.C. No. 2236 of 2002 in the High Court of Orissa challenging the decision of the State Government to grant a lease of the extent of 436.295 hectares to the Orissa Mining Corporation Limited (hereinafter referred to as, "OMC") against a recommendation to grant a lease to it of an extent of 43.579 hectares out of it. The said Writ Petition was allowed by the High Court of Orissa and the said decision is challenged by OMC in C.A. No. 6787 of 2004 and in C.A. No. 6788 of 2004.

3. M/s Jindal Strips Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as, "JINDAL") challenged in the High Court of Orissa by way of Writ Petition No. 7575 of 2003 the decision of the State Government to recommend the grant of the lease in favour of OMC ignoring its own claim for a lease and the said Writ Petition was got transferred to this Court and is numbered as Transferred Case No. 21 of 2005. This case also challenges the recommendation of the State Government for grant of a lease to OMC of the remaining extent of 436.295 hectares.

4. The proposal of the State Government to grant a lease to OMC was also challenged by I.C.C.L. before the Orissa High Court in Writ Petition (C) No. 1326 of 2005 and that is sought to be got transferred to this Court by way of Transfer Petition No. 928 of 2005. Similarly, M/s Ferro Alloys Corporation Limited (hereinafter referred to as, "FACOR") also challenged the recommendation of the State Government for grant of lease to OMC by filing Writ Petition (C) No. 5960 of 2005 in the High Court of Orissa and the same is sought to be got transferred to this Court in Transfer Petition (Civil) No. 701 of 2005. Nava Bharat, in its turn, challenged the proposal to grant a lease to the OMC, in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 6459 of 2005 in the High Court of Orissa and the same is sought to be got transferred to this Court by way of Transfer Petition (Civil) No. 932 of 2005. Balasore Alloys Limited, formerly known as Ispat Alloys Limited (hereinafter referred to as, "ISPAT") filed Writ Petition (Civil) No. 3767 of 2005 in the High Court of Orissa challenging the very same proposal to grant a lease to OMC and that Writ Petition is sought to be got transferred to this Court in Transfer Petition (Civil) No. 446 of 2005.

5. Thus, the challenges in all these appeals, transferred cases and the cases covered by the transfer petitions, are to the proposal for grant of a lease of an extent of 84.881 hectares to Nava Bharat, the denial of a lease to GMR and the recommendation of the State Government to grant a lease of the entire remaining extent of 436.295 hectares (which includes the extent of 84.881 hectares proposed to be leased out to Nava Bharat) to OMC. Considering that the questions to be decided in the appeals and transferred cases by this Court are the same as the ones raised in the writ petitions in the High Court that are sought to be transferred to this Court, the transfer petitions are allowed and the cases withdrawn thereby are also disposed of by this Judgment. Arguments have been addressed in all the matters.

6. This litigation has had a