Prabir Kumar Samanta, J. - (1.) Heard the learned Advocates for the respective parties.
(2.) Admittedly, the writ petitioner made an application dated 11.6.97 to the authority concerned for grant of a mining lease in his favour in respect of the lands in question under the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960. The writ petitioner alleged that the said application has not yet been considered by the concerned respondent authorities and accordingly, prayed for a necessary direction upon the respondent authorities to consider and dispose of the same in accordance with the provisions of law, in this writ petition. Mr. A. N. Banerjee, learned Advocate appearing on behalf of the State-respondents submitted that if the said application has not yet been considered by the concerned respondent authorities, then the same cannot be considered at this stage in view of Rule 24 of the aforesaid Mineral Concession Rules, 1960. The relevant provisions of the said Rule 24 in this regard are as under:- "(1) An application for the grant of a mining lease shall be disposed of within twelve months from the date of its receipt. (2) An application for the renewal of a mining lease shall be disposed of within six months from the date of its receipt. (3) If any application is not disposed of within the period specified in sub-rule (1), it shall be deemed to have been refused."
(3.) The aforesaid provision is pari materia with Rule 7 of the West Bengal Minor Minerals Rules, 1973 which came under consideration by this Court as to whether the same is ultra vires the Constitution. This Court in the decision reported in 1991 (1) CHN 202, in the case of Sahadev Sarkar v. State of West Bengal & Ors. , held that Rule 7 of the said Rules of 1973 cannot be treated to have authorised the authorities concerned to dismiss an application for grant of a mining lease only because of expiry of the period of one year from the date of making an application. A bona fide person fulfilling all the conditions of the statute if makes an application cannot be deprived of the consideration of his application only because of the expiry of the period of one year due to inaction on the part of the authorities who are under obligation to consider the same according to law. Reasonableness is the real test for validation of an enactment. A deeming provision is a mere legal fiction and the same cannot be extended beyond its limits. Applying these tests this Court held that Rule 7 of the West Bengal Minor Minerals Rules, 1973 cannot be sustained as it was founded on inherent drawbacks of the respondent authorities who are under obligation to consider the same under the statute but failed to do so. The same was, therefore, found to be ultra vires the Constitution and was struck down.;