Back
Rajasthan High Court
Dave & Modi, JJ.
Sethi Marble and Stone Industries, Chittorgarh - Appellant
Versus
The State of Rajasthan - Respondents
Civil Misc. Writ case No. 69 of 1957
Decided On : November 22, 1957
HELD : Under the Rules framed under the Mines and Minerals Act, the Central Government is concerned with the regulation and development of such minerals only as may be declared by it to be within its authority in the public interest, and under the Rules made under the Act, it has been clearly laid down that those rules shall not apply to minor minerals which will be allowed to be regulated by the State Government. It is in pursuance of this authority read with the definition of minor minerals that the Rajasthan State was certainly within its authority to make its own ruler so far as minor minerals are concerned. Consequently, Rajasthan Rules were and are within the legislative competence of this State. The rates of royalty prescribed in the Central Rules have no application in the case of the minor minerals as the regulation of their extraction falls within the ambit of the authority of the State, and it is perfectly open to this State to prescribe its own rates of royalty therefor. (Para 6)
Though the classification adopted in Schedule I of the Rajasthan Rules may not stand the test of being a perfectly logical or scientific classification, what it really does is not to prescribe different rates of royalty for the same type or quality of goods but different rates of royalty have been fixed for different types or quality of goods. The expression lime stone as used in the Schedule is obviously used in a sense differant from and narrower than that of a building stone, and, consequently, whatever falls under the head of "building stone" that is either being ashlar or dimensional stone or masonry stone, cannot fall under the head lime stone either of a quality used for lime burning or for other purposes, such purposes being of course wi*hin the scope of the Rules. Similarly, a different rate of royalty is prescribed for marble and for brick earth or for earth of various other kinds. It is, therefore, clear from a perusal of the Schedule as a whole that it is not the same type or the same quality of goods upon which varying rates of royalty have been prescribed, because if that had been done, that would be clearly open to the charge of unequal treatment The objective of the schedule clearly is to levy different rates of royalty on different types of goods though in doing so it may be conceded that it is not quite easy to make the classification logically watertight : but the people who are dealing with the industry should have really no difficulty in understanding the basis on which the distinction is based. (Para 8)
2 The petitioners are stone merchants and are also manufacturers of stone ballast and chips and carry on business as such at Chittorgarh. They work certain quarries themselves and also purchase stone from other quarry-owners who have their quarries in Chittorgarh and certain other places within a radius of 10 miles from that place. The petitioners carry stone to their factories and prepare chips & ballast therein and the sell them. Opposite party No. 2 Chunilal is a contractor appointed by the State of Rajasthan for collecting royalty by virtue of a contract taken by him at a public auction, the period of the contract being form the 1st April, 1957 to the 31st March, 1958. This contract was given in accordance with the terms and conditions mentioned in the notification published in the Rajasthan Rajpatra dated the 7th March, 1957, at pages 955-56 thereof. Item No. 5 of this notification provides in effect that a royalty at the rate of Rs. 12/- per 100 cubic feet will be charged on stone for making chips and ballast at the following places, namely, Manpura, Merda, Hadmala, Phootwad and Chittor, and the area within a radius of 10 miles from Chittor, while a royalty at the rate of one anna per maund will be charged on stone for burning lime. It is common ground that this notification has been issued under the Rajasthan Rules which came into force on the 11th June, 1955. The case of the petitioners is that the said Rules are ultra vires and void because the Rajasthan Government has no authority to make these rules, and it is only the Central Government that can make them under the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act (No. LIII) of 1948 (hereinafter called the Mines and Minerals Act), and in any ease, Schedule No.I which prescribes the various rates of royalty under the Mineral Concession Rules, 1949 framed by the Central Government (hereinafter referred to as the Central Rules) must be allowed to prevail over the rates of royalty prescribed by this State under the Rajasthan Rules. It is, therefore, contended that the Rajasthan Rules are ultra vires and inoperative, and consequently, the notification issued thereunder must be held to be ineffective, and the royalty charged by the contractor in accordance with the notification issued under the Schedule of the Rajasthan Rules be struck down. It is also contended that the fixation of different rates of royalty for the same goods on the basis of different uses to which they may be put is discriminatory within the meaning of Art. 14 of the Constitution, Consequently, it is prayed that the contractor should be restrained from charging royalty at the rate of Rs. 12/-- per 100 cubic feet on lime stone used for making chips and ballast.
3. This application has been opposed by the State, and the contractor Chunnilal. Their contentions, briefly put, are that the Rajasthan Rules are intra vires and valid and, therefore, the consequential action taken thereunder is unexceptionable and further that different rates of royalty have been laid down for different types of stone material, and the distinction is based on quality and market value thereof, and, therefore, the rate prescribed for the stone from which chips and ballast are made cannot be rightly held to be violative of Art. 14 of the Constitution.
4. The first question for our determination is whether the Rajasthan Rules are within the legislative authority of this State. We desire to invite attention in this connection to serial No. 54 of List I (Union List) of the Constitution which is worded like this :—
"Regulation of mines and mineral developm
An indispensable Tool for Legal Professionals, Endorsed by Various High Court and Judicial Officers
Please visit our Training & Support
Center or Contact Us for assistance
Scan Me!
India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!
For Daily Legal Updates, Join us on :
Back to top
