VALLEY REFRACTORIES PVT LTD Vs. K S GAREWAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this application under Article 226 of the Constitution the petitioners Valley Refractories Private Limited and one Bajrang Prasad Agarwal contend that the weigh-bridge which is alleged to be belonging to Valley Refractories Pvt. Ltd. situate in the village Merha Mouza, Police Station and Post Office Chirkunda in the District of Dhanbad has not vested in the Central Government under Section 3 of the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973. For the purpose of this application it is not necessary to refer to many facts. The petitioner No. 1 company contends that it is the owner of the weigh-bridge and the said weigh-bridge according to the petitioners, is situate in the plot of land on which the said refractory plant has been installed by the petitioner No. 1. Nirmal Chandra Das in his affidavit affirmed on 30th Aug., 1973 on behalf of the respondents, states that the land over which the weigh-bridge is situated is within the leasehold of Merha Colliery, the management of which was taken over by the Coal Mines Authority. There is no dispute that the said weigh-bridge was used for weighing coal extracted out of the Merha Collieries. In order to appreciate the contention it is necessary to refer to Section 3 of the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973 which is as follows :

(2.) In the view I have taken on the definition, in my opinion, the weigh-bridge would come within the purview of the 'coal mine' and the right, title and interest and the ownership of the weighbridge vests in the Central Government by virtue of Section 3.

(3.) I make it, however, clear that I have not decided about the rights of the petitioners in respect of water supply in this case, which were not pressed before me.