FERROMET CONCENTRATES Vs. STATE OF GOA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD Shri Usgaonkar, Sr. Advocate for the petitioner and Shri S. K. Kakodkar, Sr. Advocate for respondent No. 3. The prayers in the petition are that this Court should direct the respondents to notify area in respect of Sukerkars mine for regrant and to dispose of the application of the petitioner dated 9-8-1988, which is still pending and further to restrain the respondents No. 1 and 2 from granting prospecting licence and mining licence in respect of the aforesaid area to any other person until the application of the petitioner "exhibit A" is disposed of.

(2.) WE heard Mr. Usgaonkar at length, so also Mr. Kakodkar. We are disposing of this petition only on the question of delay, laches and negligence because what is borne out by the record is that the respondent No. 3 had filed a writ petition before this Court being Writ Petition No. 327/89, which petition was subsequently allowed to be withdrawn by the Division Bench on 11-10-1989 in view of the Govt. Letter No. 53/153/85-Mines/1874 dated 3-8-1989 received by the petitioner. This letter is on record of the writ petition and as per this letter, the Director of Industries and Mines agreed to convert the application of the present respondent No. 3 (who are the petitioner in that petition) for mining lease dated 20-12-84 into prospecting licence application.

(3.) IT is also a matter of record that after the respondent No. 3 withdrew their earlier Writ Petition No. 327/89, their mining lease application was converted into prospecting licence application and the prospecting licence was granted in 1989 itself and thereafter, a lease was granted.