- (1.) ON 21st November, 1946, the erstwhile Raja of Ramgarh executed a lease in favour of Bokaro and Ramgarh Limited in respect of 4299.84 acres of land for a period of 999 years for colliery purposes. The lease was to be effective from 1st March, 1946. Subsequently, on 23rd January, 1947, the lessee, Bokaro and Ramgarh Limited, granted a sub -lease of the demised lands to West Bokaro Limited on the same terms and conditions as contained in the head lease.
(2.) IN 1950, the Bihar Land Reforms Act was enacted and the same came into force in the State of Bihar on 25th September, 1950. The said Act provided for transfer of estates and tenures in the State and Sec.10, inter alia, provided that notwithstanding anything contained in the Act, where immediately before the date of vesting of the estate or tenure there was a subsisting lease of mines or minerals comprised in the estate or tenure or any part thereof, the whole or that part of the estate or tenure comprised in such lease would, with effect from the date of vesting, be deemed to have been leased by the State Government to the holder of the said subsisting lease for remainder of the term of that lease and such holder would be entitled to retain possession of the lease hold property. By virtue of the said provision, the right of the erstwhile Raja of Ramgarh as lessor stood eliminated and the State of Bihar became the lessor by operation of law.
(3.) SUBSEQUENTLY , the Bihar Land Reforms (Amendment) Act was enacted in 1964 and Section 10 -A was incorporated in the parent Act. Sec.10 -A provided that the interest of every lessee of mines or minerals, which was subject to a sub -lease, would, with effect from such date as might be notified in that behalf by the State Government in the Official Gazette, vest in the State and thereafter the sub -lessee, whose lease was not subject to any further sub -lease, would hold his lease directly under the State Government and the provisions of Sub -sections (2) and (4) of Sec.10 would mutatis mutandis apply to his lease.;