- (1.) All these writ petitions raising common question of law, have been heard together and are being decided by this common judgment. Counter and rejoinder-affidavits have been exchanged in Writ Petition No. 35523 of 2012 (Chandar Bhushan Mishra and another v. State of U.P. and others), which is being treated as leading writ petition. For deciding all these writ petitions, it is sufficient to refer to the pleadings in leading writ petition. Brief facts of the case, as emerge from pleadings of the parties in Writ Petition No. 35523 of 2012, are; petitioner No. 1 made an application on 13th May, 2011 in Form-A for grant of licence for storage of mineral under Rule 8 of the U.P. Mines (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage) Rules, 2002 (hereinafter referred to as the 2002 Rules). The application mentioned Plot No. 253Ka, Village Eerai, Tahsil Khaga, district Fatehpur where the minerals were to be stored. Another application was made by petitioner No. 1 dated 14th June, 2012 for grant of storage licence under 2002 Rules in Plot Nos. 187 Ka, 189, 192 and 447, Village Adhaul, Tahsil Khaga, district Fatehpur. The petitioner No. 2 made an application for grant of licence for storage of minerals on 15th June, 2012 on Plot Nos. 789 and 793, Village Hasanpur Akodia, Tahsil Khaga, district Fatehpur. The petitioners claim to have taken the aforesaid plots on rent from the tenure-holders. A notice was published in the newspaper dated 16th July, 2012 informing that stock of sand illegally stored at six different places has been seized which is to be auctioned on 23th July, 2012. In the notice 2500 cubic meter of sand illegally stored at Plot No. 253Ka, Village Eerai, 2000 cubic meter of stand at Plot Nos. 187Ka, 189, 192 and 477, Village Adhauli and 1500 cubic meter of sand at village Hasanpur Akodia was mentioned. The petitioners have come up in this writ petition praying for quashing the notice dated 16th July, 2012 published on 18th July, 2012 notifying auction of illegally stocked sand.. Petitioner No. 1 submitted an application on 18th July, 2012 to the District Magistrate, Fatehpur stating that stocked sand belongs to him which he has purchased from Earai Morang Khadan after taking Form MM-11 which was stored by him in expectation of grant of licence. The petitioner No. 1 further stated that he is ready to pay the fine which is to be imposed on account of his fault. Similar application was given by the petitioner No. 2 stating that he had purchased the sand from lease holder Santosh Kumar on the basis of Form MM-11. He further stated that his sand be not auctioned. This Court entertained the writ petition on 31st July, 2012 and passed an interim order to the effect, "Till the next date seizure of the sand as already made shall continue but the stock stored shall not be auctioned".
(2.) A counter-affidavit has been filed by the District Magistrate stating that the application for grant of storage licence by petitioner No. 1 was not proper since petitioner No. 1 was co-owner of only l/6th portion of the plot and there was no consent of 5/6th portion of the tenure-holders. It was stated that at six places illegal storage of sand was found for which no storage licence was obtained, hence the same were seized under sub-rule (2) of Rule 13 of the 2002 Rules. It was further stated that Rule 13(2) of the 2002 Rules provides for giving show-cause notice only to those persons who have been granted storage licence. The petitioners having stored the sand without there being valid storage licence, the storage is illegal and the petitioners are not entitled for any relief in the writ petition.
(3.) The petitioners in the rejoinder-affidavit have brought on the record certain reports submitted on their applications for grant of storage licence, however, the fact is not denied that licence has not been granted.;