A contract that is not in compliance with Article 299(1) of the Constitution is void and cannot be enforced by either the Government or the other party to the contract.

JUDGMENT:- All these appeals by the defendant State of Rajasthan involve a common question of law, and can be conveniently disposed of by a single Judgment.

2. It appears that the respondent-plaintiff in all these cases gave highest bid in the auction held on different dates in respect of different areas for royalty collection contract in respect of building stone for the period commencing from 1-4-1958 to 31-3-1959 as provided in the Rajasthan Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1955, which were then in vogue, no bid was to be regarded as accepted unless confirmed by the Government. The plaintiffs complaint is that they deposited 25% of the amount of bid for one year on completion of the auction as provided in Rule 37 of the aforesaid Rules (which for the sake of brevity called 'the Rules' hereinafter). But the acceptance of the Government was not conveyed to the plaintiff till 3-6-1958 by which time two months of the period of contract had already expired. It was alleged that on the receipt of the sanction dated 30-5-1958 on 3-6-1958 the plaintiff in all the cases refused to execute the contract and informed the Government that they were not prepared to enter into the contract and the amount deposited by them may be refunded to them. However, the Mining Engineer informed the plaintiffs that they were even liable to pay full amount of the contracts and action was being taken to recover the same under the Public Demands Recovery Act. Subsequently it appears that for realisation of the dues the Government actually attached some property belonging to the plaintiff under the Public Demands Recovery Act. Consequently the plaintiffs filed the present suits for refund of the 25 per cent of the amount of bid for one year paid by them at the time of auction and also prayed for issue of an injunction against the State of Rajasthan restraining them not to realise any amount from the plaintiff in respect of the contracts in dispute.

3. The defendant State of Rajasthan contested the plaintiff's claims, and pleaded that the plaintiff in all the cases had commenced the work from 1-4-1958 and they were liable to pay the whole of the contract money, The defendant took some other technical objections also, but they were not pressed in this appeal, and, therefore, it is not necessary to make any reference to those objections.

4. None of the parties examined any witness and merely relied upon the documents produced by them. The

learned Munsiff-Magistrate Jaipur City (East) Miss Mohini Saxena by her judgments dated 18-10-62 decreed the plaintiff's claims in all the cases for refund of the 25 per cent of the amount of bid deposited by them and also issued a perpetual injunction restraining the defendant from realising the balance of the contract money.

5. The defendant State of Rajasthan filed appeals which have been dismissed by the Senior Civil Judge, Jaipur City and consequently the State of Rajasthan has come in second appeal in these cases.

6. The only point for determination in these appeals is whether the plaintiffs are entitled to get back the deposits made by them at the time of completion of the auction and whether they are not liable to pay the balance of the contract money?

7. The learned District Judge has held on the basis of a series of decisions of various High Courts that if the contract between the Government and any other person is not in compliance with Article 299(1) of the Constitution, it would be no contract at all and could not be enforced either by the Government or by the other person as a contract Article 299(1) provides that all contracts made in the exercise of the executive power of the Union or of a State shall be expressed to be made by the President, or by the Governor of the State, as the case may be, and all such contracts and all assurances of property made in the exercise of that power shall be executed on behalf of the President or the Governor by such persons and in such manner as he may direct or authorise. A