K. VEERASWAMI, C.J. :- Ismail J. dismissed two writ petitions, out of which the appeals arise, on the ground that they were not maintainable, since the rights of the petitioners, who are appellants, were traceable to the contracts entered into between them and the Collector in respect of fishing rights in inland waters in Thanjavur Taluk. Unfortunately, the learned Judge's attention was not drawn to the fact that the Collector exercised, in granting the licence and entering into the lease in respect of the fishing rights, a statutory authority traceable to the Indian Fisheries Act, 1897, as amended by Madras Act II of 1929 and the rules framed thereunder.

2. Briefly these are the facts : For the year 1972-73, in Thanjavur the Fishermen Co-operative Society held the licence for the fishing rights, the fee therefor being Rs. 58,795. The Society defaulted to pay Rs. 33,085. On 27-8-1973, the Collector of Thanjavur notified the appellant in W. A. 340 of 1973, whether it would make an offer in respect of the right to fish for the year 1973-74. It accordingly made an offer on 7-9-1973, and the grant of a licence followed. The fee offered and accepted was Rs. 64,650, of which one