THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE RAMESH RANGANATHAN WRIT PETITION No.3319 OF 2006 ORDER: Heard Sri P. Prabhakar Reddy, learned counsel for the petitioner. 2. None appears for the respondents though the name of Sri R.S. Murthy, Additional Standing Counsel for Central Government, is printed in the cause list. 3. The relief sought for in this writ petition is to declare the action of the respondents, in withholding seignorage charges on ordinary earth, pursuant to the letter dated 25-06-2004, from the bills of the petitioner in respect of the contract agreement dated 21-11-2003 and 30-06-2003, as arbitrary and illegal. A consequential direction is sought to the respondents to refund the seignorage charges of Rs.1,98,476/- in respect of the first agreement and Rs.2,09,300/- in respect of the second agreement. 4. Sri P. Prabhakar Reddy, learned counsel for the petitioner, would draw attention of this Court to an earlier order in W.P. Nos.21401 of 2004 and batch dated 23-03-2005 wherein the writ petitions were disposed of directing the respondents therein not to withhold any seignorage charges on ordinary earth from the account of the final bills of the petitioners therein in respect of the works entrusted to them under the agreements in question. This Court had also observed that, if the amounts had already been deducted, it was for the petitioners to workout their remedies for refund thereof. This Court also made it clear that the order would not preclude the State Government from recovering seignorage charges directly from the petitioner in case any such decision is taken following due process of law. 5. Therefore, this Writ Petition is also disposed of in accordance with and in terms of the order of this Court in W.P. No.21401 of 2004 and batch dated 23-03-2005. No costs. ___________________________ RAMESH RANGANATHAN, J January 20, 2011. PV/MR