( 1 ) THE petitioner No. 1 is a registered Society of building contractors, registered under the Societies Registration Act. The members are the contractors who are carrying on the business as private and Government contractors. The petitioner No. 2 is the President of the said Society. The petitioner No. 3, a member of the Society, is also a building contractor.

( 2 ) THE petitioners, who are also Government contractors, are required to purchase boulder, boulder gitty, christ (sic) stone, muram, sand, bricks, etc. for the construction work which they purchase from different sources like petty contractors, suppliers of these articles, who in their turn purchase from other contractors or licensees of the quarries.

( 3 ) ACCORDING to the petitioners when they purchase these articles from the persons mentioned above, they only get a receipt for purchase of the articles and they do not get any royalty receipts as the petitioners do not purchase these minor minerals directly from the licensees of the quarries wherefrom these articles are excavated by the contractors in whose favour the auction is knocked down by the Government as these quarries belong to the State Govern