Kalyanmoy Ganguli, J. - (1.) In this application under Article 226 of the Constitution, of India, the petitioners, inter alia, pray for a writ in the nature of mandamus commanding the respondent no. 1 to direct the respondent no. 2 to revoke, cancel, rescind, set aside, forbear from giving effect or further effect to or acting on the basis of the purported advertisement made in the local newspaper Awaz dated July 13, 1989 which is annexure 'E' to the petition and to give permission to the petitioners to lift lower grades of coal i.e. grades E, F and Washery shrinks which are suitable for manufacture of briquettes from the colliery pit heads directly. The matter was very hotly contested by both the parties and in course of hearing several points of law cropped up for decision including the points regarding the territorial jurisdiction of this Court to entertain the instant petition and the maintainability of the application for amendment of the writ petition. Another point raised was the point of interference by the writ court in the matter of concluded contract. It is stated in the petition that the petitioners carry on the business of manufacture of briquett and all of them have their own briquett plants where they manufacture briquett coke for domestic use. It is alleged that the petitioners have licences under the Factories Act, which are still valid and subsisting. The petitioners also have been treated as small scale industries by the Directorate of Industries, Bihar and have been allotted provisional certificates to that effect. The petitioners have formed an association under the name and style of Dhanbad Briquett Industry Association. The members of the said association have moved the instant petition. The manufacture of briquett requires a temperature of 400C to 800C and it is a continuous process plant and must be run continuously. The basic essential raw material for the manufacture of the said briquett is coal which is cheaper quality of coal.
(2.) The nature of the requirement of the petitioners will be evident from the statements made in para 7 of the petition which states that the petitioners no. 1 alone needs about 1600 M.T. of coal per month.
(3.) The petitioners made applications before Coal India. Ltd. for supply of coal for manufacture of briquett and obtained linkage orders which contain details like grade, size, mode of transport etc. The said linkage order also contains an advice requiring the applicant thereof to contract the Bharat Coking Coal Ltd. the respondent no. 3 at Dhanbad, hereinafter referred to as the B.C.C.L. The copies of linkage orders have been annexed to the writ petition.;