N.P.SINGH, J.

1. The petitioners have questioned the validity of the settlement of a tank known as "Lal Pokhar Sahasupan" within the Darbhanga Municipal Corporation in favour of respondent Nos.8 to 11 (hereinafter referred to as the respondents). The petitioners and the respondents are fishermen and members of Bakerganj Fishermen Co-operative Society Limited, Darbhanga (hereinafter referred to as the Society).

2. An advertisement was published in the newspapers by the Chief Executive Officer, Fish Farmers Development Agency, Darbhanga (hereinafter referred to as Agency) inviting application from persons engaged in fishing for settlement of the aforesaid for a period of ten years with effect from 1-4-1985, in accordance with the terms and conditions laid down in Revenue Department letter No. 272 dated 11-2-1985. Pursuant to that advertisement applications on behalf of the petitioners as well as the respondents were filed. The Chief Executive Officer of the Agency recommended settlement in favour of the respondents. The recommendation of the Chief Executive Officer was placed before the selection committee which approved the suggestion aforesaid. The petitioners filed an objection before the Collector of the district, objection before the Collector of the district, objecting to settlement in favour of the respondents. The Collector, Darbanga directed the Additional Collector to reexamine the matter and to submit a report.The Additional Collector submitted his report to the Collector. In his report, it was pointed out that three out of the four respondents had completed the training given by the Agency and as such they had a better claim for taking settlement. The Collector directed that the settlement be made in favour of the respondents. The petitioners filed an appeal before the Minister, Fishery Department, which was dismissed. Thereafter the present writ application was filed before this Court.

3. A Bench of this Court, in view of the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of The Bihar Eastern Gangetic Fishermen Co-operative Society Ltd. V/s. Sipahi Singh, AIR 1977 SC 2149 and the Full Bench judgment of this Court in the case of Chetlal Sao V/s. State of Bihar, 1986 Pat LJR 149, dismissed this writ application, on 7-4-1986, saying : -

"Since this writ petition must be founded on the bedrock of the preliminary objection to its very maintainability, it becomes wholly unnecessary to recount the facts. It suffices to mention that the four petitioners herein, in the context of sairat settlement have, inter alia, sought a mandamus commanding the official respondents that the fishery tank be settled with them. It is the admitted position that no formal registered lease deed for the fishery rights has even remotely been executed in favour of the petitioners. On the other hand, it is not disputed that a lease agreement for settlement of pisciculture and fishery rights in the disputed tank has been duly executed and registered in favour of the private respondents for the period- 1/04/1985 to 31/03/1985. .....It is common ground that on this point the matter stands concluded against the writ petitioners by the recent Full Bench judgment in Chetlal Sao V/s. State of Bihar (supra) which in terms rests substantially and wholly on the reasoning in Sipahi Singhs case (supra)".

Accordingly to learned Judges, in absence of a registered deed of lease in favour of the petitioners, a writ application on their behalf for quashing the settlement of the tank in favour of the respondents was not maintainable, in view of the aforesaid Full Bench judgment of this Court in the case of Chetlal Sao and of Supreme Court in the case of Sipahi Singh.

4. Being aggrieved by the aforesaid order passed by this Court a special leave application was filed before the Supreme Court on behalf of the petitioners. The Supreme Court passed the following order: -

"1. That the judgment and order dated 7/04/1986 of the High Court of Patna in Civil Writ Jurisdic