ASSOCIATED COS LIMITED Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition is filed under Art. 226 of the Constitution questioning the correctness of an order made in the appeal by the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal in Appeal No. 324 of 1978 affirming an order made by the Special Deputy Commissioner, Gulbarga, who in turn affirmed the order made by the Tahsildar levying certain land revenue in respect of the lands which are in occupation of the petitioner where mining activities are being carried out for the purpose of their cement factory.

(2.) Petitioner's challenge to the demand is principally based on the agreement entered into between the petitioner and His Exalted Highness Nizam of Hyderabad on 18-1-1951. Clause (6) thereof reads as follows:

(3.) Though several contentions have been raised in the petition and principally based on the decisions of this court in AIR 1966 Mys 278 and AIR 1966 Mys 304, that part of the agreement is given up, obviously for the reason that the said decisions have been reversed by the Supreme Court in AIR 1983 SC 762. The contentions advanced before us are two fold. Firstly, it is contended that royalty itself is collection of certain amount on the minerals extracted from the land in question and is therefore a share paid to the Government in respect of produce of the land. It is also contended that Land Revenue is also a kind of share in the produce of the land to which the Government is entitled to receive and royalty itself being the return received from the produce of the land payable for the minerals in the land, land revenue cannot be again levied. It is alternatively contended that clause (6) itself provides that the petitioner was liable to pay to the Government royalty as stipulated in Cl.(6) referred to earlier in lieu of quarries and other rights conceded to the company by the Government. It is submitted that the royalty contemplated herein is the amount paid in lieu of all quarries and other rights conceded to the company by the Government.