RANCHI, India, Sept. 23 -- Jharkhand High Court issued the following order on Aug. 22:

1. The instant writ petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seeking a direction upon the respondents to execute a supplementary lease deed and to extend the lease period till 2042, in view of the provisions contained in Section 8A of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, as amended in 2015.

Factual Matrix:

2. The brief facts of the case as per the pleading made in the writ petition, which are required to be enumerated, reads as under:-

A mining lease for China clay over 252.74 acres of land in various villages under Thana Ormanjhi, District Ranchi, was executed on 20.03.1986 between the Governor of Bihar and M/s Sheo Narayan Jaiswal (father of the petitioner), under the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960.

A lease deed in Form 'K' was subsequently registered in favour of the lessee. On 06.07.1992, a fresh lease was granted in continuation of the earlier lease for a period of 19 years and 5 months.

After expiry of the lease period, the petitioner, being the legal heir of late Sheo Narayan Jaiswal (who passed away in 2021), applied for extension of lease under Section 8A of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, as amended, seeking extension till the year 2042.The petitioner submitted representationdated 21.01.2022 to the respondent authorities requesting consideration of the lease extension.Despite repeated representations, no action has been taken by the respondent authorities till date, hence the instant petition has been filed

3. It is evident from the factual aspects that the lease over the mineral product, i.e., China clay, has been granted by virtue of the lease deed executed on 20th March, 1986, which was ultimately expired after the lapse of its valid period, i.e., on 13th June, 2005, following an extension from 7th January, 1997. It would be evident from the supplementary lease deed appended at page nos. 78 to 80 of the paper book.

4. The writ petitioner has made an application on 06.09.2017 by referring the provision as contended under Section 8A of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation Act, 1957) for renewal/ extension of the lease deed and a representation dated 21.01.2022 has also been filed before the authority concerned but till date no decision has been taken by the authority concerned. Hence this writ petition has been filed.

Submission on behalf of the Petitioner:

5. It has been contended on behalf of the petitioner that, by virtue of the Gazette notification issued by the Government of India dated 10th February, 2015, in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 8A of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, the Central Government has declared China Clay to be a minor mineral.

6. The grievance of the writ petitioner is that, although an application has been made in the year 2017, but the lease has not been renewed/extended, even though the due representation has been filed for redressal of the grievance, therefore the present writ petition.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/ecourtindiaHC/cases/display_pdf.php?filename=zDLovBVSUw02H8XukOjXfFYNi8pVI%2BAiX62Bpq%2BCmtgKNWsZ%2B6BeGXXDRD923Wjz&caseno=WPC/1481/2022&cCode=1&cino=JHHC010109212022&state_code=7&appFlag=)

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