Grant of mining concessions in government land without transparent public notice or competitive bidding violates Article 14.

In brief

The question

1. Whether an applicant for a quarrying lease over Government land can claim a preferential right under Rule 31 of the KMMC Rules, 2015, solely by being the first to apply in the absence of a public notification

The court held

The Court dismissed the claims of the mining applicants, holding that the NOCs granted to Anish Abraham and others were invalid for lack of transparent procedure and are hereby set aside

It also directed

The Court upheld the cancellation of the petitioner's NOC extension

The Court directed the Government of Kerala to finalize proceedings to ban all quarrying operations in the Vagamon area within four months

Until such a formal order is issued, the authorities are prohibited from granting any further mining permissions in the region

All related writ petitions were disposed of accordingly.

01Facts

The litigation involves multiple parties seeking No Objection Certificates (NOC) and quarrying leases for Government puramboke land in Survey No. 729, Vagamon Village, Idukki District

pp. 8-10

Anish Abraham (Petitioner in W.P.(C) 12096/2021) was granted an NOC on 10.04.2018 for 4.990 hectares

p. 12

Karuvakunnel Enterprises (Petitioner in W.P.(C) 9102/2022) challenged this grant, alleging a lack of transparency and failure to follow competitive bidding

p. 13

Meanwhile, the District Collector cancelled Abraham’s extension of time for obtaining environmental clearance via an order (Ext.P11), which Abraham challenged

p. 11

During proceedings, the State submitted reports from the Revenue, Tourism, and Environment Departments highlighting that Vagamon—known as the "Scotland of Asia"—is an ecologically fragile tourist hotspot where mining poses a threat to life, property, and environmental stability

pp. 25, 36-38

02Issues

i.1. Whether an applicant for a quarrying lease over Government land can claim a preferential right under Rule 31 of the KMMC Rules, 2015, solely by being the first to apply in the absence of a public notification

pp. 16-18

ii.2. Whether the grant of an NOC for mining on Government property without a transparent public process or auction violates Article 14 of the Constitution

pp. 19-24

iii.3. Whether the Doctrine of Public Trust and the Precautionary Principle mandate a ban on quarrying in ecologically sensitive areas like Vagamon

pp. 26-35

03Law Applied

Rule 31 of the Kerala Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 2015, regarding preferential rights for lease applicants

p. 16

Article 14 of the Constitution, which prohibits the arbitrary grant of Government largesse as established in Ramana Dayaram Shetty v. International Airport Authority of India

p. 19

Kasturi Lal Lakshmi Reddy v. State of J&K

p. 21

The Doctrine of Public Trust, which designates the State as a trustee of natural resources (M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath)

p. 26

The Precautionary Principle, which prioritizes environmental protection over economic interests in cases of harm suspicion (M.C. Mehta v. Union of India)

p. 32

Provisions in the judgment · 12 · Linked ones open on LawLens

Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 12 provisions

Section 5 Section 6 Section 7 Section 8 Section 9 Section 10 Section 11 Section 12 Section 13 Section 14 Section 15 Section 31

04Reasoning

The Court reasoned that Rule 31’s "preferential right" only applies when applications are invited through a formal notification; otherwise, a "first-come, first-served" approach for Government land is arbitrary and excludes the general public

p. 18

The Court found that granting NOCs on a "mere asking" without a transparent bidding process (as later mandated by G.O.(MS) No. 28/2021/RD) is a violation of Article 14

p. 24

Applying the Doctrine of Public Trust, the Court held that the State has an affirmative duty to protect Vagamon’s pristine ecology and biodiversity

p. 31

It emphasized that under the Precautionary Principle, the lack of full scientific certainty regarding harm cannot justify allowing hazardous mining in a tourist hotspot, especially when the State’s own Revenue and Tourism departments reported significant threats to environmental stability

p. 35, 39

05Holding

The Court dismissed the claims of the mining applicants, holding that the NOCs granted to Anish Abraham and others were invalid for lack of transparent procedure and are hereby set aside

p. 25

The Court upheld the cancellation of the petitioner's NOC extension

p. 25

The Court directed the Government of Kerala to finalize proceedings to ban all quarrying operations in the Vagamon area within four months

p. 39

Until such a formal order is issued, the authorities are prohibited from granting any further mining permissions in the region

p. 40

All related writ petitions were disposed of accordingly.

LawLens.Kerala High Court

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