Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973

The plaintiffs, K.P. Agarwala and others, claimed a homestead right over leasehold land based on a 1949 lease. The respondent, Bharat Coking Coal Limited, contended that the land formed part of a colliery that had vested in the Central Government under the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973, and that the lease was …

Four workmen alleged that they were employed at Ramkanali Colliery before the coal mines were nationalised on 1 May 1973 and that they were unlawfully stopped from work. The management contended that the workmen were not employees on the appointed date and that the amendment substituting Section 14 of the Coal Mines Na…

The Special Area Development Authority (SADA) of Korba, created under the Madhya Pradesh Nagar Tatha Gram Nivesh Adhiniyam, 1973, levied property tax on Western Coalfields Ltd., Bharat Aluminium Co. Ltd. and other government‑owned companies, despite an agreement that SADA would not tax them and claims that the companie…

The Supreme Court examined public‑interest writ petitions challenging the allocation of coal blocks by the Central Government between 1993 and 2011. The Court held that the allocation process, carried out through the Screening Committee and a government‑dispensation route, was not authorized by the Mines and Minerals (…

Madan Lal Agrawal sued Bharat Coking Coal Ltd. for eviction of land and buildings he claimed to own adjacent to Victory Colliery. The properties were used as offices and staff quarters for the mine, which had been taken over by the Central Government under the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973. The trial court dis…

The Union of India appealed against a Patna High Court order that held interest accruing under the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973 and the Coking Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1972 was to be paid exclusively to the former mine owners. The owners had filed writ petitions seeking that the interest be excluded …

Coal India Ltd (CIL) and its subsidiary Western Coalfields Ltd challenged the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) finding of abuse of dominant position, arguing that the Competition Act, 2002 does not apply to them because they are government companies created under the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973 and ar…

The petitioners, New Satgram Engineering Works and related properties, challenged the takeover of their engineering unit, bungalow and guest house by the Central Government under the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973, seeking a mandamus. The High Court declined to decide whether these assets fell within the defini…

Pradyut Bordoloi, a Clerk Grade‑I in Coal India Ltd., filed his nomination for the Margherita Legislative Assembly seat. A complaint alleged that his employment constituted an "office of profit" under the Government of India, invoking disqualification under Article 191(1)(a) of the Constitution and Section 10 of the Re…

The Supreme Court examined writ petitions filed by former coal‑mine workers alleging that Section 3(3) of the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Amendment Act, 1976, which bans coal mining by any agency other than those specified, violated Article 14 by discriminating against them. The petitioners also claimed that private m…

The Supreme Court examined whether Section 3(3) of the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Amendment Act, 1976 barred the extraction of coking coal. Petitioners argued that the amendment applied only to ordinary coal mines, not to coking coal mines, relying on the separate legislative history of coking‑coal legislation. The C…

The Supreme Court considered writ petitions filed by Sanjeev Coke Manufacturing Co. and Sunil Kumar Ray challenging the inclusion of their coke‑oven plants in the Second Schedule of the Coking Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1972 on the ground of arbitrary discrimination violating Article 14. The Court examined wheth…

The petition filed by B.K. Naik and 700 workmen sought a writ of mandamus directing the Central Government to declare that Natundihi Pahariabera Colliery had vested in it and to treat the petitioners as its employees with back wages under Section 14 of the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973. The Court examined whet…

The Supreme Court examined a group of writ petitions challenging the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Amendment Act, 1976, which terminated existing coal mining leases and barred private persons from carrying out coal mining operations. The petitioners, lessees of coal and composite (coal‑fireclay) mines, argued that the a…

The Union of India appealed against a Bombay High Court order that had sent the dispute over a staff car of the Technical Advisor to the North Chirimiri Collieries to a civil suit. The car, purchased in 1966 and transferred to United Collieries Ltd., was claimed to be a fixed asset of the mine and therefore vested in t…

The Supreme Court examined the constitutionality of Coal India Ltd.'s electronic auction (E‑Auction) scheme for allocating coal to non‑core sector consumers. The petitioners argued that coal is an essential commodity and that the scheme's variable pricing, lack of a fixed price, and inclusion of core‑sector entities vi…

Central Coalfields Ltd., a government company engaged in coal mining, was directed by the Certificate Officer to pay surface rent for coal‑bearing areas under the Bihar & Orissa Public Demands Recovery Act, 1914. The company contended that, pursuant to the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957, the…

The appeal concerned eviction proceedings against occupants of several plots in Dhanbad, which the government claimed were part of a coal mine vested in the Central Government under the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973. The respondents argued that the land was private property and not used as a colliery, thus out…