( 1 ) THE appellants, M/s. Industrial Fuel Marketing Company and others have, in this appeal, challenged the propriety of the judgment of a learned single Judge of this Court whereby the learned Judge discharged the Rule Nisi issued on the application of the appellants under Article 226 of the Constitution.

( 2 ) THE Coal Washeries known as Kathara, Kargali and Swang, situate in the district of Giridih, in the State of Bihar admittedly belonged to the Central Coal Fields Ltd. , the respondent No. 3. In these washeries, a large quantities of coal from Hazaribagh/giridih coal fields are brought in for processing in order to bring out good quality of coal required for the steel plants. In the course of such processing, water containing very fine particles of coal known as 'sludge' or 'slurry' overflows and run into the neighbouring raiyati fields and also into the river Damodar. As a result, this ejected sludge or slurry is deposited on raiyati lands as well as on the river bed and becomes a part and parcel of the same.

( 3 ) BY an indenture of lease dated April 9, 1975, the State of Bihar granted and demised to the appellants the sludge or slurry as deposited on the