VAKIL, J. :- This writ petition is directed against the order of the District Magistrate, Rajkot dated 21st August, 1964 (Annexure-'K') refusing to grant a No Objection Certificate to the petitioners under Rule 5 of the Bombay Cinema Rules, 1954 (hereafter referred to as 'the Rules').

2. The petitioner No. 1 is a partnership firm and petitioners Nos. 2 and 3 are the partners. The petitioners are engaged in the business of cine-exhibiting and own a cinema theatre at Rajkot which is run under the name of "Krishna Cinema". It has a sitting capacity of 600 persons. They are engaged in this business since 1948. To the north-east of the existing cinema house, the petitioners own an open plot of land and they desire to construct an annexe to the existing building on that open plot with a view to construct a second auditorium with a separate screen to exhibit cinema films; either idea being to exhibit English films continuously. On the 14th of May 1963, they made applications to the District Magistrate, Rajkot, Executive Engineer, P. W. D., Rajkot and the Chief Office of the Rajkot Borough Municipality, seeking from the Executive Engineer, P. W. D. permission to give No Objection Certificate under the Rules and also from the District Magistrate, Rajkot permission to grant No Objection Certificate under Rule 5. The Rajkot Municipality granted the required permission by its two letters dated 22nd May and 28th May, 1963, subject to certain conditions to be complied with in the construction work which also required the petitioner to complete the building within period of one year from the date of the issue of the permission. Similarly the Executive Engineer, P. W. D. Rajkot by his letter dated 18th September, 1963, addressed to the Additional District Magistrate, Rajkot granted the No Objection Certificate under the Rules. It may be mentioned that with these applications made by the petitioners, they had forwarded copies of the plans of the proposed building and also the surrounding site plans were sent. It appears that the petitioners in view of the fact that the Rajkot Municipality had imposed a condition on the petitioners to build their construction within a period of one year from 22nd May, 1963, started construction of the annexe according to the plans approved by the Executive Engineer.

3. The period of the petitioners' annual licence for the existing Krishna Cinema was to expire on the 31st of December, 1963 and they had to apply for renewal of the said licence and under the impression that as they were constructing a mere annex to their original Krishna Cinema theatre, they by their letter dated 11th December, 1963, requested the District Magistrate to renew the licence and permit the addition of sitting capacity so as to include the seats of the proposed new building. On the 2nd of January, 1964, however, the District Magistrate informed the petitioners that as they were constructing a separate auditorium with a separate screen, the existing licence could not be renewed including the sitting capacity of the new building. It may be mentioned that before this reply was received by the petitioners, the petitioners had forwarded a letter on the 2nd of January, 1964 (Annexure 'F') to the District Magistrate stating that in any case if the annexe is not considered to be the part of the same premises and if it is considered to be a separate premises, then a separate licence may be given to them for that annexe. Because of this request of the petitioners, it appears that the District Magistrate started separate proceedings for the purpose of complying with the request of the petitioners for the annex and a public notice as required under the Rules was published by the District Magistrate on the 30th January, 1964, inviting objections from the public. In the said notice the description of the existing site and the proposed building and the surrounding area are stated. It is not a disputed fact that in reply to this public notice,