Jharkhand High Court
Sociedade De Fomento Industrial Pvt. ... vs The State Of Jharkhand Through Its ... on 14 March, 2022
Author: Rajesh Shankar
Bench: Rajesh Shankar
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
W.P.(C) No. 5069 of 2021
With
W.P.(C) No. 5152 of 2021
1. Sociedade De Fomento Industrial Pvt. Ltd., Margao, South Goa
through its Authorized Signatory Mr. Rajiv Kumar
2. Auduth Timblo ... ... Petitioners (In both the cases)
Versus
1. The State of Jharkhand through its Secretary (Mines & Geology),
Ranchi
2. Director (Mines), Directorate of Mines & Geology, Jharkhand, Ranchi
(In both the cases)
3. MSTC Limited, North 24 Parganas, Kolkata, West Bengal
... ... Respondent [In W.P.(C) No. 5152/21]
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH SHANKAR
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For the Petitioners : Mr. Gopal Jain, Sr. Advocate Mr. Yashraj Singh Deora, Advocate Mr. Salona Mittal, Advocate For the Respondent Nos.1 & 2 : Mr. P.A.S. Pati, GA-II Mr. Mohan Kumar Dubey, AC to AG For the Respondent No. 3 : Ms. Sreesha Sinha, Advocate
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06/14.03.2022 Both the writ petitions have been filed for issuance of direction upon the respondents to proceed with the second round of auction for the concerned Bauxite Block in accordance with the Mineral (Auction) Rules, 2015 as amended by Mineral (Auction) Amendment Rules, 2017. Further prayer has been made for restraining the respondents from taking any action to defeat the rights of the petitioner.
I.A. No. 1008 of 2022 in W.P.(C) No. 5152 of 2021 The present interlocutory application has been filed on behalf of the petitioner seeking stay of NIT dated 28.01.2022 by which Lodhapat Bauxite Block having Concession area of 0.752 sq. km. which is the subject matter of the present writ petition has been put to auction.
Mr. Gopal Jain, learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner, submits that the respondents by issuing fresh NIT being Notice No. 22/2021-22 by which the concerned Bauxite Block has been put to fresh auction process, have tried to overreach and bypass the pending adjudication and is also in direct violation of second proviso to Rule 9(12) of the Mineral (Auction) Rules, 2015 as amended by G.S.R. 1469(E) dated 30.11.2017 (w.e.f. 30.11.2017).
Learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner further submits that present writ petition relates to the allocation and granting of mining lease through NIT dated 25.10.2019 with respect to Lodhapat, Jobhipat & Hethilodha Bauxite Block having an area of 75.193 hectares. The first round of auction for the aforesaid block came to be annulled as there was fewer than 3 bidders who had submitted their bid. Thereafter, in terms of Rule 9(11)(b) of the Rules, 2015, the State Government had the option to conduct a second attempt of the auction. Accordingly, the State vide NIT dated 28.01.2020 once again invited offers for the said block. The applicant no. 1/petitioner no. 1 expressed its interest in the said block and submitted its bid letter on 09.03.2020 along with bank guarantee of Rs. 8,16,18,726/- as bid security. Thereafter, due to outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, the timeline for the said auction came to be extended. As per the revised timeline, the electronic auction for final price offer was to be conducted on 24.06.2020, however, till December 2021, the said auction had not been completed. It is also submitted that in terms of the Mineral (Auction) Rules, 2015 as well as the terms and conditions of the tender documents, the applicant no. 1/petitioner no. 1 being the sole eligible bidder was entitled to be granted the lease. The respondent-State was, however, delaying the entire process due to which the petitioners were compelled to prefer the present writ petition on 13.12.2021. Learned Senior Counsel further submits that the respondent no. 2 with a view to defeat the rights of the applicants/petitioners, have issued NIT dated 28.01.2022 (uploaded on 31.01.2022) for the said block. In fact, the bid of the applicant no. 1/petitioner no. 1 is still alive and as such it continues to maintain the bank guarantee of Rs. 8,16,18,726/- issued to the State.
Learned counsel for the respondent nos. 1 and 2 submits that counter affidavits on behalf of the said respondents have already been filed. Moreover, the last date for submission of bids in terms with NIT dated 28.01.2022 has been extended till 25.04.2022.
Heard learned counsel for the parties on the present interlocutory application filed on behalf of the petitioner seeking interim relief. Considering the fact that the last date for submission of bids invited in pursuance of fresh NIT being Notice No. 22/2021-22 dated 28.01.2022 has been extended till 25.04.2022 vide Corrigendum-III, this Court is of the view that there is no need of passing an interim order in this case at this stage. Since counter affidavits have already been filed by the State respondents in both the writ petitions, the same can be heard on merit on an early date.
I.A. No. 1008 of 2022 stands disposed of.
So far as W.P.(C) No. 5069 of 2021 is concerned, learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner submits that though fresh NIT for auctioning mining lease of Bauxite Block in question has not been issued, yet since this Court is in seisin of the matter, the respondents may be directed to stay hands from issuing any fresh NIT as has been done by them in W.P.(C) No. 5152 of 2021.
Countering the said submission, Mr. P.A.S. Pati, learned GA-II appearing on behalf of the respondent nos. 1 and 2, submits that presently the petitioner has no cause of action to make such prayer. If any such development takes place in the matter, it may take appropriate recourse as permissible under law.
Having heard learned counsel for the parties and keeping in view that there is no such document on record to suggest that the respondents have further proceeded for issuing any fresh NIT for the Bauxite Block in question, there is no need to pass any interim order in this writ petition also.
W.P.(C) No. 5069 of 2021 with W.P.(C) No. 5152 of 2021 Put up these cases under appropriate heading on 05.04.2022.
In the meantime, the petitioner may file their respective rejoinder affidavits in both the cases.
(Rajesh Shankar, J.) Manish