Krishna Ballabh Sinha, J.-In this batch of nine writ applications the petitioners have challenged constitutionality of the Government Circular bearing Memo No. 2939/2192 dated the 26th March, 1987, sent to all the District Mining Officers of the State of Bihar. In all the applications prayer has been made for a writ of mandamus commanding the respondents to forebear and desist from enforcing the provisions of the said Circular of the Government, as contained in Annexure-3 to C.W.J.C. No. 702 of 1988.

2. The case of all the petitioners is almost identical. The questions for determination are the same in all the writ petitions. The counter affidavits filed ill two of the petitions were sought to be used in all the cases and so this judgment will govern all the petitions.

3. Undisputedly, all the petitioners are contractors and they have been doing works of contract allotted by different departments of the Government of Bihar and some of them by the Union of India also. It is the common case of the petitioners that they submitted their bills for the work done by them. The concerned departments, while making payment, deducted some amount from their bills as royalty and cess for t