Mines Act, 1952

The Supreme Court entertained a public‑interest writ filed by Rural Litigation & Entitlement Kendra alleging illegal limestone mining in the Mussoorie‑Dehradun belt that was harming the ecology and forest cover. Several expert committees (Bhargava, Working Group, Bandyopadhyay) classified the mines into categories A, B…

The Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) appealed against a Delhi High Court order that held a 1988 notification extending the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 to shops was inapplicable to M.M. Suri & Associates (P) Ltd., a shop with five officers and fewer than twenty workers. The Supreme Court examined w…

The mining company Damodar Mangalji & Co. challenged a 1977 notification issued by the Government of Goa, Daman & Diu under the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948, arguing that the Act should not apply to mining establishments because the term "mine" should be limited to the ore‑extraction site and the "appropriate G…

The petitioners were accused in a complaint under the Mines Act, 1952 and the Metalliferous Mines Regulation, 1961. The Judicial Magistrate dismissed the complaint for default on 6 January 1972, but later restored it on 20 January 1972 upon the complainant's application. The accused argued that the magistrate had becom…

The President referred three questions to the Supreme Court under Article 143(1) concerning whether natural gas (including LNG) falls under the Union List (Entry 53, List I), whether States can legislate on it under Entry 25, List II, and whether Gujarat's Gas (Regulation of Transmission, Supply and Distribution) Act, …

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 appellant, a former employee of Hindustan Copper Ltd., challenged the employer’s order that treated his date of birth as 21‑September‑1945 instead of the 21‑September‑1949 recorded in his service book and other documents. The discrepancy affected the calculation of his Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) benefits, wh…

The appellant, Ichchapur Industrial Co‑operative Society Ltd., owned land over which the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) had been vested with the right of user under the Petroleum and Minerals Pipelines (Acquisition of Right of User in Land) Act, 1962 for laying a gas pipeline. When water became necessary for the…

Hindustan Copper Ltd., a government company engaged in open‑cast mining of copper ore and its subsequent processing into copper concentrate, challenged the levy of electricity duty under the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Duty Act, 1949. The Act’s Section 3 (Explanation (b)) defines a “mine” to include premises or machiner…

The Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra filed a writ petition alleging that illegal limestone quarrying in the Mussoorie hills and Dehradun area was causing severe ecological damage. The Supreme Court appointed several committees (Bhargava, Working Group, Valdia Expert Committee, Bandopadhyay) to assess safety, env…

Lanco Anpara Power Ltd was constructing a thermal power plant and had obtained registration under the Factories Act. The State authorities issued show‑cause notices under the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 (BOCW Act) and the Buildings and Other Con…

Three coal companies (Bharat Coking Coal Ltd., Tata Iron & Steel Co. Ltd., Central Coalfields Ltd. & Coal India Ltd.) claimed ownership of coal slurry that escaped from their washery plants and settled on river beds and raiyati lands. The State of Bihar granted leases to private contractors to collect the slurry withou…

The petition, filed by a social welfare organisation, alleged that thousands of migrant workers in stone quarries and crushers in Faridabad were subjected to inhuman conditions, forced labour and bondage, violating their fundamental rights under Articles 21 and 23 of the Constitution. The Court treated the letter addre…

Shri Narakesari Prakashan Ltd and Nav Samaj Ltd, printers and newspaper publishers, were served a notice to pay Employees' State Insurance (ESI) contributions for their administrative and editorial staff from 28 January 1968. They challenged liability for the period up to 19 November 1976, arguing that such staff were …

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…

The Supreme Court heard writ petitions filed by Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra challenging the continued operation of numerous limestone quarries in the Dehradun‑Mussoorie area, alleging environmental pollution and ecological damage. The Court examined reports of two expert bodies – the Bhargav Committee and a…

The Supreme Court entertained a public‑interest writ filed by M.C. Mehta challenging the employment of children below fourteen in hazardous factories and mines in Sivakasi and elsewhere, alleging violation of the fundamental right under Article 24 of the Constitution. The Court examined the constitutional mandate under…

Manganese Ore India Ltd. challenged the levy of a 40% electricity duty on its ferro‑manganese plant, arguing that the plant’s activities constitute manufacturing, not "processing" as defined in Explanation (b) of Part B of the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Duty Act, 1949. The State contended that the plant fell within the…

The Supreme Court entertained a public‑interest writ petition filed by P. Sivaswamy after a social organisation’s letter alleged widespread bonded labour in stone quarries of Andhra Pradesh. The Court directed the State of Andhra Pradesh and the concerned states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Orissa to identify, release …

The State of Madhya Pradesh appealed against a Madhya Pradesh High Court judgment that had held the electricity duty payable by Mis. Birla Jute Manufacturing Co. Ltd. for power consumed at its limestone mine premises should be calculated at the lower rate under Item (2) of the Table to Section 3 of the Madhya Pradesh E…

The Union of India filed a complaint under Section 73 of the Mines Act, 1952 alleging that Oriental Coal Co. Ltd. and its officials violated conditions 3 and 6 of the permission to split pillars with hydraulic sand stowing. The trial court and the High Court acquitted the respondents, holding that the alleged breach wa…

The Joint Director of Mines Safety issued a notice under Sections 17 and 22 of the Mines Act, 1952, requiring Tandur & Nayandgj Stone Quarries (P) Ltd. to appoint a qualified manager after an inspection revealed that the open‑cast mine employed more than 50 persons in a day. The quarry filed a writ petition, and the An…

Industrial Supplies Pvt. Ltd. and another company were managing/raising contractors of two coking coal mines under long‑term agreements that required them to install machinery and other plant. The mines were taken over by the Central Government under the Coking Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1972. The contractors cl…

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 Peoples Rights and Social Research Centre (PRASAR), a Delhi‑based NGO, filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking relief for the widespread occurrence of silicosis among workers in mining, construction, stone‑cutting and sand‑blasting industries. The petition alleged violations of fundamental rights under Artic…

The appellant, G.N. Verma, the Chief General Manager of Karkata Colliery, was charged under s.72‑B of the Mines Act, 1952 for contravening a prohibitory order that led to a fatal accident. The complaint alleged that he was a "deemed Agent" of the mine, but it contained no specific allegation that he acted on behalf of …

The Promoters and Builders Association of Pune and the Nuclear Power Corporation excavated ordinary earth – the former for building foundations and the latter for widening a sea‑water intake channel – and were penalised under Section 48(7) of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966 for allegedly extracting a minor mine…

The Supreme Court examined a series of appeals arising from the National Green Tribunal's (NGT) orders that banned rat‑hole coal mining in Meghalaya, directed the State to deposit Rs 100 crore for environmental restoration, and held that all coal extracted after May 2016 vested in the State. The Court held that the NGT…

The appellant, East India Coal Co. Ltd., owned several coking coal mines that were nationalised under the Coking Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1972. Respondents Nos. 1 and 2, who were raising contractors and selling agents for the unworked mines, installed machinery and claimed they were owners entitled to a share …

South Eastern Coalfields Ltd. operated an electrical and mechanical workshop at Korba to repair mining equipment for adjacent coal mines. The Central Government had declared the workshop a "mine" under Section 82 of the Mines Act, 1952. The assessee claimed exemption from central excise duty under Notification No. 63/9…