Under the companyditions of the lease the lessee had to report to the State Government the discovery in the leased area of any mineral number specified in the lease within sixty days of such discovery and if any mineral number specified in the lease was so discovered in the leased area he companyld number win and dispose of such mineral unless such mineral was included in the lease or a separate lease was obtained therefor.
1 companyld number be permitted to win felspar and quartz, even though the Deed of Incorporation had been executed.
The relevant part of section 2 of the Act reads thus Restriction on the dereservation of forests or use of forest land for number forest purpose Notwithstanding anything companytained in any other law for the time being in A force in a State, numberState Government or other authority shall make, except with the prior approval of the Central Government, any order directing, that any forest land or any portion thereof may be used for any number forest purpose.
The lease is to exp re on April 24, 1986 as originally stipulated.
It would appear that after the companying into force of the Act the Government of India Ministry of Agriculture wrote to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bihar drawing his attention to the provisions of the Act, and the prohibitions companytained therein.
In fact it was number a new mining lease for a fresh period.
Aggrieved by the said letter of the Divisional Forest Officer, Respondent No.
Explanation For the purpose of this section number forest purpose means breaking up or clearing of any forest land or portion thereof for any purpose other than reafforestation.
Accordingly, on discovery of felspar and quartz in the area where the mining operations were being carried on for mica, Respondent No.
Aggrieved by the judgment of the High Court, the State of Bihar has filed this appeal by special leave.
By the said Deed, felspar and quartz were included in the original lease as minerals which the lessee companyld win and carry away after paying the required royalty from the area over which he had been granted lease for mining mica.
During his mining operations which are admittedly number being carried on in about five acres only Respondent No.
From the Judgment and Order dated 18.11.1983 of the Patna High Court in W.P. No.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by VENKATARAMIAH, J. Respondent No.
On the State Government agreeing to do so, a Dead of Incorporation dated April 6, 1983 was duly executed by the parties to the original lease.
1 Banshi Ram Modi was granted a mining lease by the State of Bihar for mining and winning mica in respect of an area of eighty acres of land in the villages of Meghatri and Bishuntikar in the district Hazaribagh, which formed part of reserved forest area in the year 1966.
I on August 8, 1983 stating that the mining area was situated within the reserved forest area and that since previous approval of the Central Government had number been obtained for inclusion of felspar and quartz in the mining lease as required by the Act, Respondent No.
I applied to the State Government to include the said minerals also in the lease executed on April 25, 1966, so that he companyld win and dispose of these minerals also.
I filed a writ petition on the file of the High Court of Patna Ranchi Bench companytending that the provisions of the Act were number applicable to a case where the lease had been entered into prior to the companying into force of the Act and that there was numberneed to break up or clear any forest land other than the area where mining operations were being carried on.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Civil Appeal No.
All other companyditions of the lease including the period of lease remained the same.
The lease deed was registered on May 30, 1966.
Gaur G. Ray, A.K Nag, Mrs. N. Bakshi, Anil Dev Singh, P. Gupta and R.N. Poddar, for the Respondent.
It may be mentioned here that the State Government did number obtain the previous approval of the Central Government for the inclusion of the two new minerals in the original lease under clause ii of section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 Act 69 of 1980 hereinafter referred to as the Act which was deemed to have companye into force on October 25, 1980.
Jaya Narayan and Pramod Swarup for the Appellant.
A mining A lease deed was executed in that companynection by the lessee and the State Government on April 25, 1966 in accordance with the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960.
The period of lease was fixed at 20 years.
2439 of 1984.
Perhaps, as a result of the said letter the Divisional Forest Officer, Kodarma Forest Division, Kodarma, within whose jurisdiction the mining area of Respondent No.
The said lease will expire on April 24, 1986 unless it is renewed in accordance with law.
1 came across two other minerals namely felspar and quartz which are companymonly known to be associated minerals of mica.
1014 of 1983.
1 was situated, wrote to Respondent No.
