THE QUARRY OWNERS ASSOCIATION Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Prayer in this writ application is made for the following relief (s).

(2.) FOR quashing the letter No. 2206/M dated 28.10.2002 (Annexure -12) issued by the Assistant Mining Officer, Pakur (Respondent No. 4) by which members of the petitioner Association have been directed to submit the relevant papers in order to assess the quantum of enhancement of royalty since 28.9.1994 @24% on account of default in payment of royalty and the enhanced royalty which the petitioner has already paid with interest @ 12% per annum in the light of the orders passed by the Supreme Court on 23.8.1997 shall be adjusted alternatively, the respondents shall fix the royalty amount on their own with the interest @24% which shall be payable by the petitioner Association.

(3.) SHRI R. Krishna, learned Counsel for the petitioner argues that the notice of the respondents demanding payment of royalty at the enhanced rate of interest @ 24% on being challenged before the Supreme Court in the civil appeal, the Apex Court had directed that the members of the petitioner Association shall pay royalty at the rate of 12% per annum in four (4) quarterly installments within a period of one year commencing from October 1997. The aforesaid order, according to the learned Counsel, has to be deemed as settling the issue that the rate of interest shall be 12% per annum and not 24%, as demanded by the respondents and since the order was not vacated, it has to be deemed that it has merged with the final order passed by the Supreme Court in the aforesaid Civil Appeal. Learned Counsel argues further that when the matter was pending before the High Court in CWJC No. 9821 of 1994, the interim order dated 7.2.1995 was passed which was extended on 20.2.1995, whereby a direction was given to the respondents not to lake any coercive steps against the petitioner in the matter of realization of demanded amount of royalty. As such the members of the petitioner Association have not passed the amount of royalty to the consumers and the same has therefore to be paid now from the accounts of the members of the petitioner Association. According to the learned Counsel, demand of interest at the compound rate of 24% for the entire period including the period when there was an order of stay at the time of filing of the writ application and the demand that the entire sum exceeding Rs. 4.00 crores be paid by the members of the petitioner Association at one go, is totally unjustified and unreasonable and would perpetrate injustice on the members of the petitioner Association. Learned Counsel submits further that the respondent Authority have threatened to initiate certificate proceeding against the members of the petitioner Association.