Punjab-Haryana High Court
The State Of Punjab And Another vs Darshan Singh Bko --Respondent on 17 February, 2011
Author: Rakesh Kumar Jain
Bench: Rakesh Kumar Jain
RSA No.3807 of 1987 1
In the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh.
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RSA No.3807 of 1987 Decided on February 17,2011.
The State of Punjab and another --Appellants
vs.
Darshan Singh BKO --Respondent
CORAM: HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE RAKESH KUMAR JAIN Present: Mr.Ajaib Singh,Addl.A.G.Punjab, for the appellants Mr.Pawan Bansal, Advocate, for the respondent. Rakesh Kumar Jain, J, (Oral) Defendants are in second appeal against the judgment and decree of the Courts below by which suit filed by the plaintiff for permanent injunction restraining them (defendants) from recovering Rs.29446.21 paise as royalty, on the basis of notice dated 29.1.1985, has been decreed.
In brief, the plaintiff installed a brick kiln in the land owned by a private owner. The respondents served a notice upon the plaintiff to pay royalty on the brick earth extracted by him on the ground that it is minor mineral on which royalty is payable in terms of the provisions of Punjab Mines and Minerals (Regulation and RSA No.3807 of 1987 2 Development) Act, 1957 (for short, 'the Act') and the Punjab Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1964 (for short,the Rules').
The suit filed by the plaintiff was decreed by the Courts below on the ground that as per Wajib-ul-arz, the brick earth vests with the owner of the land and does not vest with the State.
Aggrieved against the judgment and decree of both the Courts below, the present appeal has been filed in which learned counsel for the appellants has submitted that by virtue of the notification of the Central Government dated 1.6.1958 and of the Punjab Government dated 28.3.2008, brick earth has been declared to be a minor mineral. Therefore, the State is empowered to recover royalty from the brick-kiln owners for the use of brick earth which is extracted even from the land of the private land owner. In reply, learned counsel for the respondent has relied upon a decision of this Court passed in RSA No.3300 of 1987 titled as State of Punjab and others Vs. M/s. Ved Parkash & Co. decided on February 09,2011, to contend that in similar controversy, this Court had found that brick earth extracted from the land of the private owner would not attract the payment of royalty to the State of Punjab.
After hearing the learned counsel for the parties and keeping in view the facts and circumstances of this case, I do not find any question of law much-less substantial involved in this appeal for the purpose of adjudication by this Court as the same is no more res- integra because in the case of State of Punjab and others (Supra), this Court had taken into consideration various decisions of this Court RSA No.3807 of 1987 3 to come to a conclusion that brick earth which is extracted from the land of the private owner, does not attract payment of royalty, even if the brick earth has been declared minor mineral by the Central Government and the State Government.
In view thereof, I do not find any merit in the present appeal and the same is hereby dismissed but without any order as to costs.
February 17,2011 (Rakesh Kumar Jain) RR Judge