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PRASANNA B. VARALE, KRISHNA S. DIXIT
Manjunath Yellappa Timmapur – Appellant
Versus
State of Karnataka – Respondent
JUDGMENT
1. Petitioner, a mining lease operator is invoking the writ jurisdiction of this Court for assailing the Demand Notice dated 29.04.2022 issued by the 5th respondent -Senior Geologist at Annexure-A and the Revisional Order dated 15.12.2022 issued by the 4th respondent -Additional Director-cum-Revisional Authority at Annex-B. The net effect of what is impugned is to compel the petitioner to pay a sum of Rs.1,18,63,056/- by way of royalty and penalty.
2. Learned counsel for the petitioner argues that the impugned demand and the levy are incompetent; the answering respondents have ignored the payments made by the petitioner by way of royalty since January 2019; there is absolutely no material to assume that the petitioner has transported an additional quantity of sand i.e. 9788 Metric Tonnes unauthorisedly. The impugned orders are made contrary to the principles of natural justice. Even, the penalty is far in excess of what is permissible under the Karnataka Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1994. According to him, these lapses do constitute errors apparent on the face of the record and therefore, the impugned orders are liable to be set at naught.
3. Learned Principal Government A
The court affirmed that the judicial review in writ jurisdiction is limited to the decision-making process and not the substantive outcome, emphasizing the necessity of evidentiary support for claims....
Judicial review in matters of administrative decisions regarding mining royalties is limited to the process of decision-making, and not the substantive merits of the decisions.
The issuance of a demand notice without providing an opportunity for a hearing violates the principles of natural justice, necessitating its annulment and remand for proper inquiry.
The court ruled that the petitioner must pursue available alternative remedies instead of invoking extraordinary jurisdiction, as the issuance of the demand notice was valid and did not lack inherent....
The necessity of conducting a thorough investigation, including a Drone Survey, before imposing significant penalties for alleged regulatory violations in the context of quarry leases.
A demand notice issued under statutory rules must be treated as a show-cause notice if natural justice, specifically the right to a hearing, has not been afforded, requiring authorities to provide an....
The main legal point established is that demands made without providing an opportunity of hearing and without considering the applicability of specific provisions are illegal and violate principles o....
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