Natural justice in mining lease cancellation requires full disclosure of relied-upon material before fresh hearing and decision.

Administrative action affecting mining lease rights must comply with natural justice where the cancellation and revisional orders rely on factual material not fully disclosed to the affected party. The Court indicated that the proper course was not final restoration of the lease, but remittal for fresh notice setting out the factual basis, supply of relied-upon documents, and an opportunity to file objections and be heard before the revisional authority. It also required consideration of the intervening lessee's claim and whether the alleged breaches were attributable to the original lessee or another person. The matter was remitted for a reasoned decision, with status quo maintained.

---

---

Issues: Whether the cancellation of the mining lease and the revisional order required interference for want of natural justice, and whether the matter should be remitted for fresh consideration after notice and hearing.

Analysis: The lease was terminated under the mining law framework after show-cause proceedings and subsequent inspections. The record indicated that the factual material relied upon in the cancellation and revisional orders had not been fully supplied to the affected parties and that they were not given adequate opportunity to meet those materials. Instead of finally restoring the lease, the proper course was to secure compliance with natural justice by requiring a fresh notice containing the factual basis of the proposed action, together with copies of the relied-upon documents, and then to permit objections and hearing before the revisional authority. The matter also required consideration of the rival claim of the intervening lessee and of the question whether the alleged breaches were attributable to the original lessee or another person.

Conclusion: The matter was remitted to the Central Government for fresh notice, hearing, and a reasoned decision, with interim status quo maintained.

Final Conclusion: The judgment did not finally determine the validity of the lease cancellation on merits and instead reopened the controversy for fresh adjudication in accordance with natural justice.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an administrative order affecting rights is founded on factual material not properly disclosed or put to the affected party, the order should be set aside and the matter remitted for fresh decision after full notice and hearing.

---