CHANAN MAL Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners in this bunch of twelve writ petitions (C. W. Nos. 1118, 1133, 1180, 1181, 1208, 1225, 1226, 1231, 1238, 1277. 1351 and 1352 of 1974), are either owners or lessees of saltpetre at various places in the State of Haryana. They have challenged the constitutional validity of the Haryana Minerals (Vesting of Rights) Act. 1973 (Haryana Act No. 48 of 1973), (hereinafter referred to as the Act), principally on the ground that the Haryana State Legislature lacked the legislative competence to enact that law. The other grounds raised by the petitioners will be dealt with later on as I purpose to deal with this ground in the first instance. This order will dispose of all the writ petitions.

(2.) THE Act received the assent of the President of India on December 16, 1973, and was published in the Haryana Government Gazette (Extraordinary) dated December 20, 1973. and came into force on that date. The preamble of the Act shows that it has been enacted to vest the mineral rights in the State Government and to provide for payment of amounts to the owners of minerals and for other matters connected therewith. The Objects and Reasons which led to the passing of the Act as published in the Harvana Government Gazette (Extraordinary) dated November 7. 1973 were as under--

(3.) "minerals" is defined in Section 2 (b) of the Act to mean minerals and minor minerals as defined in clauses (a) and (e) respectively of Section 3 of the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act. 1957, and Section 2 (c) defines "land" to mean land whether assessed to land revenue or not and includes river beds and the sites of buildings and other structures. Section 3 of the Act is in the following words:-