### Quarry Lease Execution is Barred Beyond Statutory Ceiling Area Prescribed Under Amended Rule 15 of KMMC Rules

The petitioner applied for a quarry lease for building stones on December 29, 2006.

Following necessary "No Objection Certificates" (NOCs), the Competent Authority issued a notification on April 8, 2011, sanctioning the grant for 15 acres of revenue land for five years.

However, due to the petitioner’s failure to execute the lease within the statutory period, the grant was cancelled on October 20, 2011.

On revision, the Revisional Authority set aside the cancellation on January 11, 2013, condoning the delay but directing fresh clearances from Forest and Revenue departments.

On October 23, 2017, the Competent Authority issued an endorsement declaring the application "lapsed" under the amended Rule 8-B(1) of the Karnataka Minor Mineral Concession (KMMC) Rules, as NOCs were not re-received before August 12, 2016.

The petitioner challenged this endorsement and the subsequent dismissal of his revision petition in 2020.

Whether the notification of grant dated April 8, 2011, created a vested right in favor of the petitioner to lease 15 acres, notwithstanding subsequent amendments to the KMMC Rules.

Whether the restriction on the maximum area of a quarry lease (10 acres) under the amended Rule 15 of the KMMC Rules applies to a grant sanctioned prior to the amendment.

The court primarily applied the Karnataka Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1994 (KMMC Rules).

Under the pre-amended Rule 30, a grantee was required to execute a lease within six months, failing which the grant stood revoked.

The court relied on *S.A. Rasheed v. Director of Mines and Geology*, which held that a grant is only complete upon execution of a deed.

It further applied the amended Rule 15(1), which prohibits any person from "acquiring" a lease exceeding 10 acres for non-industrial purposes.

Rule 8-B(1), as amended in 2023, was also noted as making applications previously deemed "lapsed" now eligible for processing.

The court reasoned that a notification of grant under Rule 27 is not a completed lease and does not demise the land; rights are only "acquired" upon the execution of a formal lease deed.

The petitioner’s 2011 grant was effectively abandoned due to years of inaction and the Revisional Authority’s 2013 order, which necessitated reprocessing the application *de novo*.

Consequently, any new lease deed must comply with the law currently in force.

The court rejected the applicability of the 25-acre limit from the old Rule 25, stating that since the mandatory period for execution under the old grant had expired, the petitioner must submit to the new 10-acre ceiling under Rule 15(1).

The court emphasized that it cannot issue a writ of mandamus directing authorities to act in violation of the prevailing statutory area limits.

However, the court held that the petitioner is not entitled to the original 15 acres.

The High Court directed the respondent authorities to expeditiously execute a quarrying lease for a maximum area of 10.00 acres, subject to the completion of all other necessary statutory formalities.