PUDIPATLA SCHEDULED CASTES AND SCHEDULED TRIBES CO OPERATIVE LABOUR CONTRACT SOCIETY LTD Vs. ASSISTANT DIRECTORE MINES AND GROLOGY ANANTPUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) W.P. No. 2634 of 1980. - Sri Koti Reddy, learned Counsel for the petitioner submits that he is withdrawing the application filed before the Assistant Director of Mines and Geology, Anantapur, for the grant of lease in respect of land in Survey No. 324 of C. Mallavaram Village, and no orders need be passed in this writ petition. Hence this writ petition is dismissed. No, costs. Advocate's fee Rs. 150.

(2.) W.P. No 2501 of 1980: - Applications were filed by several people including petitioner and respondents 4 and 5 before the Assistant Director of Mines and Geology, Anantapur, for the grant of lease in respect of Survey No. 324 of C. Mallavaram village, the total extent being Ac. 39-60 cents. The petitioner has applied for an extent of Ac. 23-60 cents while the 5th respondent for Ac. 16-00 and the 4th respondent for the entire area in S. No. 324. The Assistant Director of Mines and Geology (3rd respondent) has rejected the 4th respondent's application on the ground that his application was premature inasmuch it was submitted before the expiry of subsisting lease. He rejected the other applications on different grounds. He granted lease in favour of the 5th respondent for an extent of Ac. 16-00. The petitioner executed the mining lease on 8th January, 1980, having paid the requisite fees. Work order was also issued on 8th January, 1980. The 4th respondent, aggrieved with the order passed by the 3rd respondent rejecting his application, preferred an appeal on 9th January, 1980, before the 2nd respondent and obtained ex parte stay orders. Then the petitioner filed Writ Petition No. 459 of 1980, and this Court disposed of that writ petition on 15th February, 1980, with a direction to the 2nd respondent to dispose of the case within fifteen days. The Director by his order dated 3rd March, 1980, rejected the 4th respondent's appeal and vacated the stay orders. Then the 4th respondent filed a revision petition before the Government and obtained ex parte stay orders. The Government passed orders finally on 25th August, 1980, setting- aside the order granting lease hi favour of the petitioner and granting the lease in favour of the 4th respondent. The order passed by the Government in Memo. No. 518/Mines. II/80-10, dated 28th May, 1980 reads as follows: "........ And, in the light of the facts that there was no justification for treat the revision petitioner's application as premature and that he is a graduate with Geology who can be given third preference under rule 12 (2) of Andhra Pradesh Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1966, it is hereby decided to grant him the balance area of 23.60 acres. In effect, the quarry lease granted to Sri C. Munivenkata Reddy for an extent of 23.60 acres in S. No. 324, C. Mallavaram, Chandragiri Taluk should stand cancelled, as he comes next only to the Labour Contract Society, and the revision petitioner, who is a graduate in Geology........ The Government also took into consideration the claims of the 4th and 5th respondents in respect of the lease and granted lease in favour of the 5th respondent and rejected the claims of the 4th respondent and confirmed the lease granted in favour of the 5th respondent in an extent of Ac. 16-00.

(3.) Aggrieved with the orders passed by the Government in favour of the 4th respondent, the petitioner filed this writ petition. The learned Government Pleader requested for time for filing counter. In view of the urgency of the matter, and at the request of the Counsel on both sides the matter is posted for hearing and hence the Government Pleader could not file his counter, but he produced the relevant records and argued in the matter with reference to the records.