IMPORTANT POINT
The court established that vehicles seized for illegal mining can be released only if no confiscation proceedings are pending, ensuring compliance with mining laws.

ORDER :

1. A Tractor trolley (RJ-19-RI-5772), stated to be source of livelihood of the petitioner/owner, was allegedly found stealthily transporting river sand ¼ctjh½. Allegation also is that it was un-authorizedly quarried/mined without any valid permission of sanction from the competent authority. The said offending vehicle is sought to be released on Superdari through instant petition. It was impounded pursuant to an FIR No.199/2024 registered at Police Station Pratap Nagar (Jodhpur City West), District Jodhpur City West for the offences under Sections 303(2) of BNS read with Sections 4 and 21 of Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act, 1957 (hereinafter to be referred as ‘the 'MMDA').

2. Ever-since 24.07.2024, the vehicle in question is lying parked, turning into junk/beyond repair by each passing day, unattended and out of usage, at Police Station Pratap Nagar, District Jodhpur City West.

3. An application for release of vehicle on Superdari filed by the petitioner before the learned Magistrate was though allowed vide impugned order dated 12.09.2024, but an onerous condition of depositing the entire amount of penalty to the tune of Rs.1,25,900/-, which includes compounded fee, as levied by Mining Officer, was directed to be deposited as a precondition of its release.

4. A criminal revision assailing the order of the learned trial Court/Magistrate before the learned Sessions Judge was also dismissed vide an order dated 04.10.2024 affirming the view taken by the learned Magistrate.

5. Briefly speaking, the relevant facts of the case are that on 24.07.2024, the police intercepted the offending vehicle, which was found to be half filled with river sand ¼ctjh½ allegedly mined without any authorization from the mining site.

5.1. The said site is stated to be not an authorized piece of land for mining, and thus, comes under the category of illegal mining area. The petitioner was booked for illegal mining activity under Section 4/21 of MMDR read with Section 303(2) of BNS. On the complaint of the police officer, the aforesaid FIR was thus registered.

5.2. Simultaneously, penalty proceedings were also initiated by the mining department under Rule 54(3) of Rajasthan Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 2017 (hereinafter to be referred as ‘the RMMCR’). After due calculations, qua the quantity of the river sand ¼ctjh½ and the applicable royalty per tonne and the compounding fee, a total of Rs.1,25,900/- was directed to be paid by the petitioner.

5.3. Meanwhile, when an application for Superdari was filed by the petitioner under Sections 503 of BNSS before the learned Magistrate, it was allowed subject to the precondition of deposit of the penalty as already stated hereinabove. Aggrieved by the onerous condition, the instant petition before this Court.

6. In the aforesaid backdrop, I have heard the learned counsel for the petitioner as well as the learned Dy.GA appearing for the respondent-State.

7. At the very outset, before proceeding further, it would be worthwhile to refer to a judgment rendered by the Coordinate Bench of this Court in somewhat similar circumstances in the case title Kishore Singh Vs. State of Rajasthan : (2021) 0 Supreme (Raj.) 139. The Coordinate Bench opined thus:-

“25. This Court, on a careful examination of the precedent laws in an intricate manner, finds that the precedent laws of Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai & Ors. Vs. State of Gujarat (supra) and Adhikshak Rashtriya Chambal Abhyaran Vs. Narottam Singh (supra), as laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, shall govern the field, and thus, the vehicles seized under the mining law and the forest law, shall be released, upon charging the compensation/compounding fee or without charging the compensation/compounding fee, only and only, if the confiscation proceedings in regard thereto have not been initiated by the State authorities. It is to be noted that both mining and the forest laws have the provisions for confiscation proceedings.

26. It is also observed that until t