BAL MUKAND ARORA Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A common question of law is involved in these writ petitions, regarding the validity of charging of dead-rent by the State of Rajasthan and its functionaries under the provisions of the Rajasthan Minor Mineral Concession Rules 1077 (hereinafter called to be as the 'Concession Rules'), and Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957 (hereinafter called to be as 'the Act of 1957'). A bunch of 12 writ petitions, in which validity of the charging of dead rent was challenged, came up for consideration before this Court in Atmaram Bilochi v. State of Rajasthan Civil Writ Petn. No. 955 of 1980 (Per Hon'ble Mr. Justice K.S. Sidhu), on 8th August, 1980, it was held that the Government of Rajasthan was authorised by law to collect and levy, 'dead-rent'. It was then held that the dead-rent is a kind of minimum rent or royalty with this difference that the rent, called royalty, is a varying charge based on the value of the product, and the rent, called dead rent is a minimum annual payment, which is usually not enforced if the amount payable as annual royalty is more than the amount of dead-rent fixed for the year. Royalty, in a sense, is therefore the genus of which 'dead-rent' is a species.

(2.) Reliance was placed upon the judgments of this Court in Bherulal v. State of Rajasthan, AIR 1956 Raj 161 and Commr. of Income-tax v. Ramlal and Sons, AIR 1964 Raj 152 (FB). This court held that royalty is inter alia, a charge by the owner of the minerals from those to whom he gives the concession to remove the minerals, and the charge is on production, the rate being fixed according to weight or the value of the produce. According to Rules. 'Royalty' and 'Dead Rent' have been defined in the following terms: (See Rule 3) "Royalty" means the charge payable to the Government in respect of the ore or mineral excavated, removed or utilized from any land as prescribed in Schedule I.

(3.) Section 15 (1) of the Act was held to be the source of authority for the State Government to make rules for regulating the grant of mining leases in respect of minor minerals and for purposes connected therewith. Placing reliance upon the judgment of the Supreme Court in Baijnath v. State of Bihar, AIR 1970 SC 1436, this Court held that the State Government is fully competent, as a delegate of Parliament, to make rules regulating the grant of mining leases in respect of minor minerals and for purposes connected therewith.