Lessee Acquiescing to Supplementary Lease Terms is Estopped From Claiming Extension Based on Original Registration Date

The petitioner, a mining lessee for the Suleipat Iron Ore Mines, held a lease originally executed on 25.10.1975 and registered on 24.05.1976

Following the 2015 amendment to the MMDR Act, which declared all existing leases to have a 50-year tenure, the petitioner executed a supplementary lease deed on 01.07.2019

This deed explicitly stated the lease would remain valid until 24.10.2025 (calculated from the 1975 execution date)

In 2022, the Supreme Court permitted the petitioner to sell existing mined-out ore subject to clearances

Two days before the lease expiry, the petitioner submitted a representation claiming the 50-year period should be calculated from the registration date (24.05.1976), which would extend the lease to 23.05.2026, and sought an additional 14-month "add-on" period due to government inaction

1. Whether the 50-year lease period under Section 8A(6) of the MMDR Act should be reckoned from the date of the lease's execution/indenture (25.10.1975) or the date of its registration (24.05.1976)

2. Whether the petitioner is entitled to an "add-on" or compensatory period of extension for time lost due to alleged government delay or inability to operate the mines

The court applied Section 8A (3) and (6) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (as amended in 2015), which mandates that leases granted before the amendment are deemed to be for 50 years from the date of original grant

It relied on Rule 31 of the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 (MC Rules) regarding the execution of lease deeds

Regarding contractual conduct, the court applied the doctrines of Waiver, Acquiescence, and Estoppel, citing Kanchan Udyog Ltd. v. United Spirits Ltd. [p. 27] and Commissioner of Customs v. Virgo Steels [p. 29] to establish that even mandatory statutory rights can be waived if they are for an individual's benefit.

It further followed Ramesh Prasad Sao v. State of Odisha [p. 65] and JDL Lime Stone and Dolomite Mines v. State of Odisha [p. 68], which held that there is no provision for "add-on" periods beyond the 50-year statutory ceiling under the 2015 AMDR regime.

The court found that the petitioner signed and registered the supplementary lease deed in 2019 with full awareness that the tenure was fixed until 24.10.2025

By acting upon this deed for five years without protest, the petitioner waived any rights under previous government correspondence (such as the 2006 letter) that suggested a different starting date

The court noted that in contractual/statutory mining matters, a party cannot take inconsistent positions to gain an advantage once they have acquiesced to a specific term

Regarding the "add-on" period, the court determined that the 2015 Amendment introduced a strict 50-year regime intended to eliminate discretion and mandate auctions upon expiry

To grant an extension beyond the 50-year limit would contravene Section 8A and rewrite the binding registered contract between the parties

The court also highlighted that the petitioner’s representation was "stale," having been filed at the "fag end" of the lease

It held that the 50-year period was correctly calculated from the date of indenture (25.10.1975) as accepted by the petitioner in the supplementary lease deed

The court further held that there is no legal provision for granting "add-on" or compensatory periods beyond the 50-year statutory limit fixed by Section 8A of the MMDR Act

No relief was granted regarding the extension till 2027 or the recalculation of the expiry date