THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE N.V. RAMANA WRIT PETITION Nos.25566 and 25660 of 2010 COMMON ORDER: Petitioners herein claim to have stood as highest bidders in the public auction conducted by the 4th respondent- Assistant Director of Mines and Geology Department, SPSR Nellore District, pursuant to the auction notice dated 18.04.2009, for grant of quarry leases for excavation of sand from Apparaopalem Reach and Mulumudi Reach respectively. Petitioners state that they have paid an amount of Rs.47.00 lakhs and odd and 36.00 lakhs and odd respectively, towards EMD, bid amount/25% thereof, income tax etc., but however, the auction could not be finalized in view of the orders passed by a Division Bench of this Court in W.P.No.10073 of 2009, which was filed by one Rural Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Educational Society, in public interest, questioning the auction notice dated 18.04.2009. Therefore, they submitted representations requesting the respondent authorities to refund the respective amounts paid by them. It is the grievance of the petitioners that without refunding the amounts paid by them, the 4th respondent issued a fresh auction notification dated 05.10.2010, proposing to conduct public auction, for leasing out the sand quarrying rights in respect of the subject reaches and other reaches specified in the auction notice. The petitioners seek to question the said action of the 4th respondent and they state that even for participating in the present auction, they need to pay huge amounts of EMD along with application, which should be submitted by 18.10.2010 as indicated in the impugned auction notification, and then 25% of the bid amount, in the event they succeed in the bidding, and since the amounts paid by them pursuant to the earlier auction notification are not refunded and are withheld by the authorities, they are not able to participate in the present auction. They, therefore, filed these writ petitions, seeking directions to the respondents not to conduct auction in pursuance of the impugned notification, till the entire amounts paid by them under various counts are refunded along with interest thereon. At the time of arguments, learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioners strenuously contended that the action of the respondent authorities in proposing to conduct fresh auction, without refunding the amounts paid by the petitioners, is illegal and that the petitioners shall be refunded the amounts paid by them with interest. On the other hand, learned Government Pleader for Mines and Geology appearing for the respondents, on instructions, submits that the process of refund of the amounts paid by the petitioners is going on and that the amounts will be refunded positively before 18.10.2010 i.e. before the last date fixed for submission of sealed tenders and applications for participating in the present auction. However, so far as the claim of the petitioners as regards the interest on the amounts paid by them is concerned, he disputes the liability of the authorities to pay the same. In view of the said submission of the leaned Government Pleader for Mines and Geology that the amounts of the petitioners will be refunded by the authorities before 18.10.2010, by which date the petitioners have to submit the sealed tenders along with their applications for participating in the present auction, as indicated in the impugned auction notification, learned counsel for the petitioners agreed for disposal of the writ petitions with appropriate directions for refund of the amounts of the petitioners before 18.10.2010, without prejudice to the rights of the petitioners to pursue their remedies as regards the claim of interest on the amounts paid them, for which the learned Government Pleader appearing for the respondents reported no objection. In view of the above and in the facts and circumstances of the case, without prejudice to the rights of the petitioners to pursue their remedies as regards the interest claimed on the amounts paid them, the writ petitions are disposed of, directing the respondents to refund the amounts paid by the petitioners in pursuance of the auction notification dated 18.04.2009, before 18.10.2010, so as to enable them to participate in the present auction in terms of the impugned auction notification dated 05.10.2010. No order as to costs. __________________ JUSTICE N.V. RAMANA 8th October, 2010 Note:- Issue CC by 13.10.2010 B/o IBL