B L NANDA Vs. STATE OF M P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has filed this petition being aggrieved by order dated 15-1-2004 passed by the Regional Controller, Govt, of India, Ministry of Mines, Indian Bureau of Mines, refusing to accept the min-ing plan submitted by the petitioner along with his application for grant of mining lease in view of the provisions of Rule 22D(c) of the Mineral Concession Rules 1960 (herein-after referred to as 'the Rules of 1960').

(2.) The brief facts, leading to the filing of the present petitioner, are that the petitioner filed an application for grant of mining lease on 11-3-2003 for extracting limestone in respect of Khasra No. 905, Area 3.92 Hectares of village Bhatia, Tehsil Maihar, District Satna in accordance with the Rules. The State Government, by communication dated 6-10-2003, informed the petitioner that he should submit the mining plan after due approval from the Central Government as required by Rule 22(4) of the Rules of 1960, within six months so that further proceedings could be taken up for processing the petitioner's ap-plication for grant of mining lease. In view of the aforesaid letter of the State Govern-ment, the petitioner submitted the mining plan to the respondent No.3 for approval. However, by the impugned communication dated 15-1-2004 the respondent No. 3 has refused to grant approval to the mining plan submitted by the petitioner in view of the provisions of Rule 22D of the Rules of 1960 which was introduced in the Mineral Con-cession Rules, 1960 during the pendency of the petitioner's application for grant of min-ing lease.

(3.) Being aggrieved, the petitioner has filed this petition contending that he had filed the application for grant of mining lease on 11-3-2003 whereas Rule 22D(c) of the Rules of 1960, which provides that the minimum area for granting mining lease shall not be less than four Hectares, has been introduced by way of amendment in the Rules with effect from 10-4-2003 and, therefore, the respon-dents have wrongly rejected the application filed by the petitioner.