KATRAS JHARIA COAL CO LTD Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner in this case is the Katras Jharia Coal Co. Ltd. a company incorporated under the Indian Companies Act. Mousas Seebpore and Koithi, Sub-registry Ranigunj, thana Ranigunj in the district of Burdwan, appertained to the zamindary of the Maharaja of Burdwan. In the year 1864-65 it was granted as a patni tenure to one Ram Krishna Chatterji by a patta. By the year 1895, after many devolutions, the interest came to be held by one Purno Chandra Daw. By an Indenture of Lease dated the 26th July, 1895 Purno Chandra Daw demised the lands and collieries mentioned in the said Indenture of Lease to the Katras Jharia Coal Co. Ltd., upon a permanent lease. The Indenture of Lease purports to demise to the petitioner company, the lands hereditaments and premises known as the "Seebpore and Koithi Collieries" together with all lands of every description and tenure, belonging to or held with, the Seebpore and Koithi Collieries, as also all mines beds and seams of coals and other mines and minerals whatsoever situated or lying in or under the said lands, and the other rights mentioned in the said Indenture of Lease. By an agreement dated 1st June, 1901 as modified by a further agreement dated 30th. March, 1955 the petitioner granted and demised by way of a sub-lease to the Seebpore Coal Co. Ltd. a part and parcel of the coal mining rights in Mouza Koithi comprising an area of 986 bighas. So far as the surface lands of the said collieries are concerned, the petitioner company created a large number of under-tenures and Ryoti interests. As regards the colliery rights, the position is that the petitioner company has leased out by way of sublease, a part of the Koithi Colliery to the Seebpore Coal Co. Ltd., who have since 1901 been working the same. The rest of the collieries are being worked by the petitioner company itself. It seems that in 1908, certain litigations started and on or about 28th August, 1917 the petitioner company acquired a confirmatory lease from the Maharaja of Burdwan. The reason why such a confirmatory lease became necessary is briefly as follows: Prior to the year 1910, the question as to whether a lease of lands granted by a Zamindar carried with it the underground rights, that is to say, rights in mines and minerals underneath the surface, was a disputed question. In some leases, there was an express grant by the Zamindar of such rights, but in other cases tile lessee claimed the under-ground rights by way of an implied grant. Upon this point there was a long stream of litigation culminating in the Privy Council decision, Kumar Hari Narayan Singh v. Sriram Chakravarti, 37 Ind App 136 (PC) more commonly known as the "petana" case. It was held by the Judicial Committee that where a village was shown to be a mal village of the plaintiff's zamindary estate, he must be presumed to be the owner of the under-ground rights as well. Where he has granted a lease, and has not expressly parted with the under-ground rights, he must be taken to have retained the same. After the law was thus clarified, lessees founded their claims upon an express grant or else took a confirmatory lease from the Zamindar, granting them such rights. In this case, such a confirmatory lease was taken by the petitioner company, so that no question arises about the petitioner being a lessee with regard to the under-ground rights. The position therefore was that the Seebpore Coal Co, Ltd., the sub-lessee, paid rent to the Katras Jharia Coal Co. Ltd. and the Katras Jharia Coal Co. Ltd. the lessee, paid rent to the Maharaja of Burdwan, the Zamindar ot the estate. The West Bengal Estates Acquisition Act, 1953 being West Bengal Act I of 1954 (hereinafter referred to as the "Act") came into operation on the 12th February, 1954. Under Section 4 of the Act, upon a notification being issued by the State Government, all estates and the rights of every intermediary in each such estate, situated in any district or part of a district specified in the notification, vested in the State free from all incumbrances. Such a notification was issued in respect of the lands in question on the 15th April, 1955, Under the Act as originally promulgated, the word "intermediary" was defined as follows:

(2.) The word, "estate" or "tenure" has not been defined, but under Sub-section (p) of Section 3, expressions used in the Act and not otherwise defined, would have, in relation to areas where the Bengal Tenancy Act, 1885 applied, the same meaning as in that Act. That the interest of the Maharaja of Burdwan, which was a zamindary interest, came within the definition of the word,

(3.) On the 23rd August, 1956 a memorandum was issued by the S.D.O. Asansole, Estate Acquisition Branch, addressed to the Indian Mining Federation, stating that all previous instructions were to be considered as superseded, because Government had decided that Section 29 of the Act clearly provided that the word 'intermediary' includes a lessee or a sub-lessee and that, retention as under a lease, or a sub-lease, was permissible in law in the case of persons actually holding land and working the mines. Therefore, such parties were thenceforth to pay royalty dues according to the terms of the lease or sub-lease, as the case may be, direct to the Government. It is clear therefore that after the passing of the Act it was at first considered that the lessee should pay rent and royalty to the State Government, but that the sub-lessee would continue to pay his rents and royalties to the lessee, witli which, the State Government will not be concerned,. By 1956, this view of Government came to be modified. A different construction came to be put upon the provisions of the Act, and briefly speaking, Government claimed the rents and royalties, not only from the lessee but also from the sub-lessee. Being conscious of the fact that such a stand might not be within the limits of the existing law, it was not long before the law itself was sought to be altered. On 16-1-1957 an Ordinance was passed, being the "West Bengal Ordinance No. 1 of 1957" altering the definition of the word, "intermediary" in. Section 2 of the said Act. This was followed by an amending Act, being West Bengal Act No. IV of 1957. The definition of the word, "intermediary", as amended, stands as follows: