(1) As common questions of law and facts arise in these writ petitions, they have been heard together and are disposed of by this common order.

(2) BACKGROUND FACTS:

The petitioners in these writ petitions are either lease holders of mines and quarries in forest areas; purchasers of minerals as a forest produce from the lease holders or from the State Government or Corporation, owned or controlled by the State Government; Public Sector Units such as National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), State Trading Corporation (STC) or Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). Thus, the petitioners could be categorized into two broad categories: the first category is, mining or quarrying lease holders who sell the minerals as forest produce extracted by them from the forest area to various traders or purchasers or make use of them for captive consumption. The second category is, purchasers of minerals as forest produce, either from the State Government or corporation, owned or controlled by the State Government or private mining or quarrying lease holders. These persons do not have any quarrying licenses or leases in their names, but are purchasing the minerals as forest produce f