JUDGMENT

SEN, J. :— These appeals by special leave against a judgment of the Delhi High Court turn on the construction of certain provisions of the Coking Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1972.

2. The appeals raise a question of for reaching importance namely, whether a raising contractor of a coal mine is an owner within the meaning of sub-s. (1) of S. 4 of the Coking Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1972 (hereinafter referred to as the Nationalisation Act); and if so, whether the fixed assets like machinery, plants, equipment and other properties installed or brought in by such a raising contractor vest in the Central Government. They also give rise to a subsidiary question, namely, whether subsidy receivable from the erstwhile Coal Board established under S. 4 of the Coal Mines (Conservation, Safety and Development) Act, 1952 up to the specified date, from a fund known as Conservation and Safety Fund, by such raising contractor prior to the appointed day, can be realised by the Central Government by virtue of their powers under sub-sec. (3) of S. 22 of the Nationalisation Act, to the exclusion of all other persons including such contractor and applied under sub-s. (4) of S. 22 towards the discharge of the liabilities of the coking coal mine, which could not be discharged by the appointed day.

3. To make the points intelligible, it is necessary to state a few facts. By an agreement dated February 7, 1969 made between Messrs Balihari Colliery Co. Pvt. Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the owner) of the one part and Messrs Industrial Supplies Pvt. Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the petitioners) of the other part, it was recited as follows.

"WHEREAS the Owners are the Owners of a Working Colliery comprising an area of 300 bighas more or less and known as Balihari Colliery particularly described in the first schedule hereunder written held under the lease and sub-leases mentioned in the said Schedule and in connection therewith have built various structures, dhewrsho coolie lines (hereinafter referred to as the said buildings) and also installed and put up various machinery, plants tools implements and utensils (hereinafter referred to as the said machinery) therein;

AND WHEREAS the owners have appointed Industrial Supplies Private Limited as Managing Contractor of their said colliery and the said Managing Contractor has agreed to act as such Managing Contractor for the period and upon the terms and conditions herein contained:"

4. Under the said agreement, the petitioners were appointed to be the managing Contractors of Kutchi Balihari Colliery for a period of 20 years. Under Cl. 7 (a) the petitioners were required at their own cost to install fixed assets like equipment, machinery and plants and also invest in the form of current assets like stores in the said colliery and to work the same as raising contractors. By Cl. 7 (b) the additional machinery so installed and the chattels and utensils so brought in by the petitioners were to remain the property of the petitioners absolutely and on the determination of the agreement they were entitled subject to the provisions of Cl. 9, to remove such additional fixed assets and current assets. Clause 9 gave an option to the owners to purchase the additional machinery chattels and utensils referred to in Cl. 7. Clause 25 of the agreement is material for our purposes and it reads:

"25. That in case the said colliery is nationalised these presents shall stand determined and all moneys then due and owing by the owners to the Managing Contractor or by the Managing Contractor to the owners under the provisions hereof shall at once become due and payable by the owners to the Managing Contractor or by the Managing Contractor to the owners as the case may be. If as result of such nationalisation the machinery, chattels and utensils installed at and/or brought into the said colliery by the Managing Contractor under the provisions of Clause 7 of these presents or any one or more of them or the build