HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD ?AFR Court No. - 9 Case :- WRIT - C No. - 37550 of 2015 Petitioner :- Smt. Shimla Devi Respondent :- State Of U.P. & 2 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Dev Brat Mukherjee Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C. Hon'ble Arun Tandon,J.
Hon'ble Ashwani Kumar Mishra,J.
Heard learned counsel for the parties.
Petitioner before this court made an application for being granted lease under the Minor and Minerals (Concession) Rules 1963, for execution of Gritti, Bolder and Stone with reference to a notice issued by the District Magistrate, Allahabad on dated 24.8.2005.
The application of the petitioner was not proceeded for nearly four years. He filed Writ Petition No. 30498 of 2010, which petition was disposed of vide order dated 25.5.2010 requiring the District Magistrate, Allahabad to consider the application of the petitioner. Since the order of the High Court has not complied with, petitioner filed Contempt Petition No. 1956 of 2011.
The District Magistrate, Allahabad vide order dated 12.5.2011 rejected the application made by the petitioner. Not being satisfied, petitioner filed Writ Petition No. 46309 of 2011, the writ petition was decided under judgment and order dated 5.1.2015. The Hon'ble High Court observed that if the area is not notified and no third party rights have been created and the petitioner produces the character certificate and insolvency certificate to satisfy the District Magistrate, Allahabad, her application be reconsidered under the current Rules and Policy of the State Government.
This order of the High Court was subjected to challenge by the petitioner herself before the Apex Court by means of Civil Appeal No. 7544 of 2012. The Apex Court vide order dated 15.10.2012 allowed / disposed of the appeal. The Apex Court set aside the judgment and order of the Division Bench on the ground that the petitioner had the statutory remedy under Rule 77 of the Minor and Mineral (Concession) Rules 1963 before the Commissioner of the Division.
The appeal filed by the petitioner before the Commissioner was decided under order dated 23rd June, 2015 after recording that in view of the Government Order dated 31st May, 2012 followed by the notification dated 23rd December, 2012 Rules 1963 have been amended and therefore, it is to be examined as to whether the earlier applications of the petitioner would be considered any further or not. The District Magistrate, Allahabad was directed to reconsider the matter within three months of the receipt of the order in the light of the Government Orders dated 31st May, 2012 and 23rd December, 2012.
The petitioner, by means of this petition, filed after 2-1/2 years of the appellate order come up with the prayer that the District Magistrate, Allahabad may be asked to take a decision in the matter as remanded under the order of the Commissioner, referred to above. According to the counsel for the petitioner the delay in approaching this Hon'ble Court by means of the present writ petition has been duly explained.
In our opinion, no mandamus need be issued to the District Magistrate to pass orders on the pending applications of the petitioner for the following reasons:-
A Division Bench of this Court in the case of Nar Narain Mishra versus State of U.P. and Another reported in 2013 (2) ADJ, 166 after examining the contents of the Government Order dated 31 May 2012, which applied to all kinds of leases to be granted under the Minors and Minerals (Concession) Rules, 1963 had proceeded to hold that all pending applications as on 31st May, 2012 shall stand rejected by operation of law and any fresh settlement in respect of lease of Minors Minerals can be effected only under Chapter IV i.e. by e-tendering / auction, as all the vacant areas had been declared to be available for settlement of rights under chapter IV only by the State Government.
We may record that the State Government issued a new Government Order dated 26th June, 2013 which provided that pending application which have been allowed by the Competent Authority may be proceeded with irrespective of the order of the Division Bench of this Court in Nar Narain Mishra (supra).
This Government Order dated 26th February, 2013 came for consideration before another Division Bench of this Court in the case of Sukhan Singh versus State of U.P. and others reported in 2014 (11) ADJ, 89. The Division bench held that the Government Order dated 26th February 2013 shall not alter the legal position as has been explained in the case of Nar Narain Mishra (supra), meaning thereby that all pending applications as on 31st May 2012 for grant of renewal / grant of lease stand rejected automatically.
The legal position has been settled by the two division benches referred to above, which as per the information provided to the Court stand affirmed with the dismissal of the Special Leave Petition filed against the same before the Apex Court.
We find no reason to take any different view, there is no reason to ask the District Magistrate, Allahabad, to undertake a futile exercise.
Writ petition is dismissed.
Order Date :- 9.7.2015 Akram