MISRILALL JAIN Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN all these writ petitions the petitioners have challenged the authority of the State of Jharkhand, Department of Mines to issue executive order/resolution revising the surface rent of the land held by the petitioners as mining lessees. In all these writ applications, since common question of law and facts are involved, they have been heard together and are disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) THE petitioners have prayed for issuance of appropriate writ for quashing the resolution as contained in memo No. 1055 dated 17.6.2005 whereby and where under the State Govt. has arbitrarily changed the rate and mode of calculation of the surface rent for the area used by the lessee for mining purposes and thereby decided that the entire land under the lease for mining purposes will be commercially valued and 5% of the valuation so arrived and will be charged as the surface rent and further for declaring the aforementioned resolution as illegal, void and contrary to the rule making power of the Govt. in respect of both major and minor minerals and further for quashing the demand notice issued by the respondents whereby surface rent has been demanded in terms of the aforesaid resolution.

(3.) THE respondent -State has filed counter affidavit stating, inter alia, that for the purpose of calculation of surface rent from the mining lessee a provision has been made under Rule 27(1)(d) of the M.C. Rules, 1960. It is further stated that under Rule 29(1)(gha) of Jharkhand Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 2004, surface rent is to be charged at the rate specified by the Collector from time to time for an area occupied or used by the lessee. The respondents' further case is that surface rent has been revised after a very long gap of 83 years taking into account that huge amount of lands for mining purposes is used as commercial use.