241 and 242 of 1960
Petitions under article 32 of the Constitution of India for enforcement of Fundamental Rights
P B DaS K Choudhoury Balbhadra Prasad Singh and I N Shroff for the petitioners
M C Setalvad Attorney General of India B Sen and R H Dhebar for the respondents
February 10
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by MUDHOLKAR J
The petitioner in W P 241 of 1960 Messrs Burrakur Coal Co Ltd and the petitioner in W P 242 of 1960 Messrs East India Coal Co Ltd claim to have acquired mining rights in two blocks in Mouza Sudamdih and Mouza Sutikdih respectively situated in Dhanbad district in the State of Bihar
On July 28 1960 the Central Government published a notification bearing No section 0
1927 under section 4 of the Coal Bearing Areas Acquisition and Development Act 1957 No 20 of 1957 stating its intention to prospect for coal in an area approximately five sq
miles which includes Sudamdih colliery aud Sutikdih colliery
The petitioners have stated in their respective petitions that in consequence of the issue of the aforesaid notification they are precluded from carrying on any mining operations in the respective collieries and that the Central Government is entitled to acquire mining rights in the area covered by the notification within a period of two years from the date of notification or within such further period not exceeding one year as the Central Government may specify by notification in the Official Gazette
The petitioners have come up to this Court under article 32 of the Constitution contending that the aforesaid notification is ultra vires and illegal inasmuch as it interfere with their fundamental right to own property and to carry on business
Assuming that an incorporated company is a citizen we may point out that the East India Coal Co Ltd is incorporated in the United Kingdom while the Burrakur Coal Co Ltd is 47 incorporated in India
Therefore in so far as the rights conferred by article 19 are concerned it may only be the latter which is entitled to the protection of the Constitution but not the former company
Both the petitioners however contend that the right conferred by article 312 of the Constitution is also infringed by the aforesaid notification and if their contention is correct they will be entitled to protection in respect of that right inasmuch as it is not limited to the citizens of India as is the case with regard to the rights enumerated in article 19
Both the petitions were argued together though the arguments were addressed mainly with reference to the case of Burrakur Coal Co Ltd and therefore it is that case with which we will deal fully
After dealing with the arguments advanced with reference to that case we will deal briefly with the other case
The challenge to the notification rests on two grounds firstly that the notification is ultra vire8 the Act and secondly that the Act is itself ultra vires the Constitution
The petitioner s learned counsel Mr P R Das contends that the Act applies to unworked coal mines which according to him mean virgin lands and not to those which are being worked at present or which were worked in the past
In support of this contention he strongly relies upon the preamble to the Act
The preamble runs thus An Act to establish in the economic interest of India greater public control over the coal mining industry and its development by providing for the acquisition by the State of unworked land containing or likely to contain coal deposits or of rights in or over such land for the extinguishment or modification of such rights accruing by virtue of any agreement lease licence or otherwise
and for matters connected therewith
 His argument proceeds to the length of saying that even abandoned mines are not touched by the Act
According to him however the Sudamdih colliery was not an abandoned mine nor could it be regarded as abandoned because though it was not actually worked 48 between the year 1932 and the month of May 1960
the petitioner had purchased it for a large consideration amounting to over Rs 146000 and thereafter it paid annually the minimum rent and royalty which totals upto over Rs 123000 from May 1 1939 to June 30 1960
According to the petitioner the mine was not actually worked during this period because in the petitioner s opinion it was uneconomical to work it
The petitioner in fact made  an application on December 3 1959 to the Coal Board as required by the provisions of the Coal Mines Conservation and Safety Act 1952 XII of 1952 for permission to reopen the colliery but it did not receive any reply from the Coal Board
Even so the petitioner commenced drilling operations in the beginning of May 1960 and carried them on till August 12 1960 during which a depth of 235 ft was reached at one point
The petitioner however stopped these operations consequent upon the publication of the impugned notification in the Gazette of August 6 1960
We are mentioning
these facts because on their basis a further argument is raised by Mr Das to the effect that prior to the issue of the notification the mine was being actually worked
Before however we deal with that argument we must consider the main contention of Mr Das which is to the effect that the Act applies only to virgin land
Mr Das contended that the preamble to an Act is a key to understanding the provisions of the Act and referred us in this connection to the advisory opinion of this Court in re the Kerala Education Bill 1957 In that case Das C J who delivered the opinion of the Court has observed The long title of the said Bill The Kerala Education Bill 1957 describes it as A Bill to provide for the better organisation and development of educational institutions in the State 
Its preamble recites thus Whereas it is deemed necessary to provide for the better organisation and development of educational institutions in the State provid ing a varied and comprehensive educational service 1 1959 SCR 995 1022
49 throughout the State 
We must therefore approach the substantive provisions of the said Bill in the light of the policy and purpose deducible from the terms of the aforesaid long title and the preamble and so construe the clauses of the said Bill as will subserve the said policy and purpose
While
holding that it is permissible to look at the preamble for understanding the import of the various clauses contained in the Bill this Court has not said that full effect should not be given to the express provisions of the Bill even though they appear to go beyond the terms of the preamble
It is one of the cardinal principles of construction that where the language of an Act is clear the preamble must be disregarded
Though where the object or meaning of an enactment is not clear the preamble may be resorted to explain it
Again where very general language is used in an enactment which it is clear must be intended to have a limited application the preamble may be used to indicate to what particular instances the enactment is intended to apply 1
We cannot therefore start with the preamble for construing the provisions of an Act though we would be justified in resorting to it nay we will be required to do so if we find that the language used by Parliament is ambiguous or is too general though in point of fact Parliament intended that it should have a limited application
Mr Das then contended that the various provisions of the Act clearly show that Parliament intended the Act to apply only to virgin land
In support of this contention he referred to the provisions of as
456 7 and 8 of the Act
He pointed out that whenever it appears to the Central Government that coal is likely to be obtained from land in any locality it is empowered by sub a
1 of section 4 to give notice of its intention to prospect for coal therein
According to him where a mine has been worked at some time in the past all the necessary information would be available in the working plan of the mine and by way of illustration pointed out that the fullest information 1 Craies Interprotation of Statutes 5th Edn pp 188 189
50 was available in the working plan Annexure B1 of the Sudamdih colliery
He further pointed out that this information was in fact in the possession of the Government as would appear from Annexure B which was appended to the notification of July 20 1960
We may point out that this annexure sets out that this is a statement of percentage of worked and unworked areas in different coal mines and
after setting out the various seams which have been proved the percentages of worked and unworked areas have been specified therein
Prospecting according to Mr Das would be necessary only if nothing is known about an area and therefore there can possibly be no need for prospecting when a mine has been worked
Admittedly sub section
1 of a 4 does not specifically say that it applies to unworked land
All the same according to Mr Das it must be so construed as to apply to unworked land only for there would be no need for the Government to undertake prospecting for coal in worked land on which there is a colliery
We cannot accept the argument of Mr Das
The bulk of the coal in a mine is underground and even though the existence of some seems may have been proved in particular areas it is impossible to say that the information obtained when it was prospected once or when it was being worked as to the quality and quantity of coal or the dimensions of the seams is complete
The seams are not necessarily horizontal and more often are inclined and sometimes even folded
Then again there may be faulting in the strata of coal as a result of which an impression may be created that a seam has disappeared at a particular place though further borings or drilling may show that even
beyond that point but at greater depths the same seam reappears
So where a mine was worked in the past but mining operations therein were stopped either because the coal therein was thought to have been exhausted or because it was not thought to be of a sufficiently good quality such as to make the working of the mine economic further prospecting may well reveal the existence of additional coal bearing strata or of a better type of coal than that found 51 earlier
On the plain language of sub a
1 of section 4 the Central Government has been empowered to issue a notification with reference to its intention of prospecting any land in a locality and not only such land as is virgin in the sense in which Mr Das uses that expression
Then Mr Das referred sub section
3 of a 4 and said that the whole of the country has been subjected to a geological survey of a very detailed kind and all known coal fields are mentioned in one report or the other of the department of Geological Survey of India
Collieries which have been worked at some time in the past must have been mentioned in one of these reports and
 therefore it would be wholly unnecessary for the legislature to confer upon the Government the power as is done by cl
a of sub section
3 of section 4 to enter upon and survey any land in the locality in which such colliery is situate
The very fact that power has been given to the Central Government to enter upon and survey land for  the purpose of ascertaining whether there is any coal in that land shows that the legislature had in mind only that land which has not been mentioned as coal bearing in any of the reports of the Geological Survey of India
Here again we may point out that the object of survey of land is to enable the Government to satisfy itself not merely about the fact that any coal exists in that land but also about the quality and quantity of coal therein and whether it would be an economical proposition to work the mines already existing on that land
Indeed a perusal of the provisions of sub a
4 of section 4 would show that the Act is not restricted to unworked lands only but applies equally to those lands on which there are existing mines but those mines are not being worked
That subsection reads as follows In issuing a notification under this section the Central Government shall exclude therefrom that portion of any land in which coal mining operations are actually being carried on in conformity with the provisions of any enactment rule or order for the time being in force or any premises on which any process ancillary to the getting dressing or 52 preparation for sale of coal obtained as a result of such operations is being carried on are situate
Under this provision the Central Government is required to exclude that portion of any land in which coal mining operations are being carried on in conformity with any enactment rule or order
This would indicate that the language of sub section
1 of section 4 was understood as applying also to that land in which coal mining operations were actually being carried on
Unless we hold so the whole of sub section
4 would be rendered otiose
Mr Das however says that sub section
4 enacts a rule of exclusion and that it had been enacted by way of abundant caution
We cannot accede to this argument for the simple reason that if the language of sub section
1 of section 4 is capable of being interpreted as applying to any land in which coal mining operations are actually being carried on then there is all the greater reason why that provision should be held also to apply to land in which coal mining operations were carried on in the past though they are not being carried on at present
If Parliament was cautious enough to exclude land in which coal mining operations are actually being carried on why did it stop there and not exercise the same caution with respect to land in which coal mining operations were once being carried on but have now ceased For on the plain meaning of the word unworked such lands would more readily fall within the terms of sub section
1 of section 4 than land in which coal mining operations were actually being carried on that is to say worked lands
Then Mr Das referred to cl b of section 5 which runs thus any mining lease in so far as it authorises the lessee or any person claiming through him to undertake any operation in the laid shall cease to have effect for so long as the notification under that sub
section is in force
He contended that what this provision prohibits is the undertaking of any operation in the land and not carrying on of an operation
Undertaking of an operation according to himself relates to the initial 53 working of the mine and riot to the resumption of work on the mine after work thereon had stopped nor to carrying on work on a mine the working of which had not been stopped
As a consequence of the issue of a notification under sub section
1 or section 4 what the lessee of a mining lease is prohibited from doing is undertaking any operation on land on which no operations were being carried on
But he is not prohibited from continuing to carry on operations which he was carrying on at the date of the notification
We cannot however accede to the contention that the resumption of mining operations on a land is outside the bar created by this pro vision
The words used in the section are to undertake any operations in the land which according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary mean to enter upon work enterprise responsibility
The meaning of the provision therefore is that what the lessee is prohibited from doing is something which he was not doing at the date of the notification though he was authorised to do it under his lease
Thus if a colliery was not functioning at the date of the notification then by virtue of the provisions of a 5b he would not be permitted to work it
Undoubtedly the provision has to be interpreted reasonably and it does not mean that if the notification came into force on the Monday and the mine was not worked on Sunday because of a holiday the lessee was prohibited by the notification from working it
The resumption of working of a mine after a casual closure or a closure in the ordinary course of working a mine would not fall within the bar created by section 5b
In this connection we may refer to r 7 of the Coal Mines Regulations of 1957 which provides that when it is intended to reopen a mine after abandonment for a period exceeding 60 days not less than 30 days notice before resumption of mining operations must be given to certain authorities
The Coal Mines Regulations of 1957 have been framed under section 57 of the Mines Act of 1952 section 16 of which provides for the giving of notice before commencement of mining operations
It is in the light of these provisions that we must interpret the provisions of section 5b of the Act
So what must be said to have 54 been prohibited would be the undertaking of an operation on land not for the first time only but also the resumption of an operation which had been abandoned or discontinued
Mr Das then contended that a mining area is always extensive and it is not possible to work on every bit of it simultaneously and therefore if work is carried on at one point in a colliery the whole colliery must be deemed to be working that is to say coal mining operations must be deemed to have been carried on over the entire area on which the colliery is situate
In support of his contention he relied upon the decision of the Privy Council in Nageswar Bux Roy vs Bengal Coal Co Ltd 1 and upon a passage in Halsbury s Laws of England2
Both the decision of the Privy Council as well as the passage in Halsbury deal with the question of possession and state the law to be that a person can be said to be in possession of minerals contained in a well defined mining area even though his actual physical possession is confined to a small portion that is to the mine which is being actually worked
The decision of the Privy Council as well as the passage in Halsbury are nus not in point
Further it is difficult to see how an exemption under section 44 is admissible in the case of the Sudamdih colliery or Sutkidih colliery unless it is shown that they were actually being worked at the date of the notification in conformity with the provisions of any enactment rule or order for the time being in force
It is an admitted fact that though a notice was given under section 16 of the  by the Sutkidih Colliery the petitioners in WP 242 of 1960 it aid not actually start working the colliery in view of the impugned notification
As we have al ready pointed out the Burrakur Coal Co Ltd did commence working the Sudamdih Colliery in May 1960 even though it had not obtained the permission of the appropriate authorities
We must therefore examine here the argument of Mr Das that every colliery must be held to be exempted under sub section
4 of section 4
We have already referred 1 1930 LR 58 I A 29
2 3rd Edn Vol 26 p 630 55 to section 16 of the  and regulation 7 of Mining Regulations 1957
In addition there is Regulation 3 of 1957 which requires that the notice contemplated by section 16 should be submitted in Form I No doubt the petitioner had given notice as required by these provisions
No doubt also that it was necessary for the authorities concerned to take appropriate action on the notice
But it is difficult to say that the inaction of the authorities can be availed of by the petitioner
We must give effect to the plain lan guage of sub section
4 of section 4
That provision in clear terms makes an exclusion or exemption only with regard to that portion of the land in which coal mining operations are actually being carried on in conformity with the provisions of any enactment rule or order
Therefore it is clear that Parliament was exempting only such collieries as were being worked in consonance with the provisions of law
Mr Das s argument however is that the Act prescribes penal ties for the breach of its provisions and of those of the regulations and so the petitioner could well be visited with an appropriate penalty but that its right to run the mine could not be affected
We are not here concerned with the question whether the failure of the petitioner to comply with the requirements of the Coal or of the Regulations of 1957 precludes the petitioner under that Act or under those regulations from carrying on mining operations
We are concerned here only with one point and that is whether the petitioner could be said in point of fact to have been carrying on mining operations in accord ance with law
That the petitioner was not doing so is not even denied by Mr Das and in the circumstances it is clear that the petitioner is not entitled to the benefit of sub section
4 of section 4
We should have dealt with this part of Mr Das s argument elsewhere but in order to avoid repetition we have thought it convenient to deal with it here
Adverting to section 61 of the
Act which deals with compensation for any necessary damage done under section 4 of the Act learned counsel contended that Parliament plainly intended the Act to apply to virgin land
56 If the section was intended to apply to worked mines there would have been provision according to learned counsel for payment of compensation to the owner or lessee of the mine for being deprived of his right to work the mine consequent upon the  issue of the notification
It is sufficient to point out that section 4 does not contemplate entering upon any land which is actually being worked and there will thus be no deprivation in fact of the owner s or lessee s right of working the mine
The Act applies only to unworked lands
This expression would include not only virgin lands but also lands on which mines may have been opened and worked sometime in the past but working on those mines was either discontinued or abandoned
Of course it is possible to say that the action of the Government would interfere with the potential right of the owner or the lessee to work the mines and this would interfere with his right to hold property and carry on his business
When we deal with the other part of Mr Das s argument we shall deal with this question
It was next contended that section 7 which deals with the power of the Central Government to acquire land or rights in or over land notified under section 4 also indicates the limited operation of the Act
Sub section 1 of section 7 runs thus If the Central Government is satisfied that coal is obtainable in the whole or any part of the land notified under sub section 1 o f section 4 it may within a period of two years from the date of the said notification or within such further period not exceeding one year in the aggregate as the Central Government may specify in this behalf by notification in the official Gazette give notice of its intention to acquire the whole or any part of the land or of any rights in or over such land as the case may be
The argument was that in respect of mines which have already been worked at some time in the past all the relevant material would be at the disposal of the Government even previous to the issuing of a notification under sub section
1 of section 4 and therefore there 57 could be no necessity for the Government to enter on and prospect the land for being satisfied that coal is obtainable therefrom
Therefore the argument proceeds the provision could not have been intended to apply to land other than virgin land
This is really a repetition of the argument which was addressed to us in connection with sub
1 of section 4 and what we have said with regard to that sub section would equally apply here
Sub section 1 of section 7 provides for a period of two years within which a notice of acquisition could be given by the Central Government
It is argued that this period is too long for keeping out an owner or lessee of land the mines on which had been worked in the past and that Parliament could not have intended this effect
Therefore the argument proceeds this provision also points to the conclusion that the word land wherever it occurs in the Act should be read as virgin land
Prospecting operations are necessarily prolonged because what lies under the surface of land cannot be easily ascertained except by undertaking drilling or other appropriate operations at a number of places
Such operations are bound to be prolonged
Parliament apparently thought that it would be reasonable to allow a period of two years to the Government for carrying on the necessary operations and for making up its mind
The mere length of the period so allowed to the Government cannot be regarded as indicative of the intention of Parliament to give to the word land  the meaning virgin land 
Reliance was placed on the explanation to sub a
1 of section 8
That sub section and the explanation are as follows Any person interested in any land in respect of which a notification under section 7 has been issued may within  thirty days of the issue of the notification object to the acquisition of the whole or any part of the land or of any rights in or over such land
Explanation
It shall not be an objection within the meaning of this section for any person to say 58 that he himself desires to undertake mining operations in the land for the production of coal and that such operations should not be undertaken by the Central Government or by any other person
It was argued that in the explanation the words used are to undertake mining operations and not to carry on mining operations and therefore the Act could not be intended to apply to worked mines
Here again the argument is similar to that advanced on the basis of cl
b of section 5 and what we have said regarding it would equally apply here
Adverting to section 13 of the Act which deals with compensation for prospecting licences ceasing to have effect and rights under mining leases being acquired it was contended that as there is no provision for compensation in respect of the minerals lying underground Parliament could not be deemed to have enacted this law for the purpose of acquiring mines which have been worked in the past
According to Mr Das if we have understood him right when a person has acquired land either as an owner or as a lessee carrying with it the rights to win minerals and has opened in that land mines which he worked for sometime there takes place a severance between the right to the surface and right to the minerals and that consequently such person will thereafter be holding the minerals as separate tenement that is something apart from the land demised and this separate tenement cannot be acquired under the terms of the present Act or if it can be so acquired it has to be specifically compensated for
Reference to the several provisions of the Act and in particular to those of section 13 indicates according to learned counsel the limited scope of the Act
It is difficult to appreciate the contention that merely because the owner or the lessee of a land had opened mines on that land a severance is effected between the surface and the underground minerals
It may be that a trespasser by adverse possession for the statutory period can acquire rights to underground minerals
It may also be that if that happens the surface rights would become severed from the mineral rights as a result of which the 59 minerals underground would form a separate tenement
It is however difficult to see how the owner or the lessee of land who has right to win minerals can effect such a severance between the mineral rights and surface rights by opening and operating the mines of that land
For even while he is carrying on mining operations he continues to enjoy the surface rights also
We cannot therefore accept the contention that there was any severance of the mineral rights and surface rights in either of these two cases
It is no doubt true that section 13 does not make any specific provision for compensation in respect of minerals but on the other hand it provides in the explanation to el
a of sub section
5 that the value of minerals lying in the land shall not be taken into consideration in assessing compensation
Whether the absence of a provision for compensation  would make the Act ultra vire8 in so far as it contemplates acquisition of land will be considered presently
We may however point out that the Act does not make provision for compensation for minerals in respect of even virgin land and the argument of Mr Das would equally apply to such land
Therefore no point can be made from the absence of a provision for compensation for minerals that the Act was applicable only to virgin lands
For all these reasons it is clear that the notification is not ultra vires the Act because in our view the Act applies not only to virgin lands but also to dormant collieries or unworked lands
To sum up in our view the preamble of this Act need not be resolved to for construing its provisions and in particular for understanding the meaning of the word land used in the Act that even if the preamble is taken into consideration the expression unworked land occurring in the preamble should be given its ordinary meaning that is to say land which was not being worked at the time of the notification issued under the Act which would include dormant mines that the provisions of the Act and in particular those of sub section
4 of section 4 and section 5b clearly militate against the contention that the Act was intended to apply only to virgin lands to the exclusion of land on 60 which there are dormant mines and that the absence of a provision in section 13 of the Act providing for compensation for mineral rights cannot by itself justify the conclusion that the Act was intended to apply to virgin land only
Now we come to the second part of the argument
It is contended that sections 4 5 and 6 invade the fundamental rights of the petitioner under article 191g of the Constitution because under section 5 a mining lease ceases to have effect for two years and possibly for three years
Mr Das concedes that reasonable restrictions can be placed by the State upon the rights enumerated in this article in the interests of the general public but he contends that the period of two to three years is too long and therefore the restrictions cannot be regarded as reasonable
We have already indicated that prospecting operations in their very nature must take a long time to complete and presumably Parliament had fixed this period after bearing in mind this factor and also on the basis of expert advice
Of course there are no pleadings to that effect in the affidavit of the State
But in our opinion the petitioner cannot be permitted to complain of the absence of pleadings because it has not itself stated in the petition what would be reasonable time for conducting prospecting operations
We are therefore unable to accede to the argument
The next attack and that is a more formidable one is based upon the ground that the Act does not contain any provision for compensation for the deprivation of the petitioners right to carry on its business for two to three years and that consequently one of its fundamental rights is infringed
It is no doubt true that in a 134 which deals with the question of compensation there is no provision for payment of compensation for the deprivation of the right of a mine owner or a lessee to carry on his business for a period of two or three years but the petitioner cannot complain about it
In article 31A cl
1 sub el
e of the Constitution which was inserted by the Constitution First Amendment Act 1951 it is provided that notwithstanding anything contained in article 13 no 61 law providing for   the extinguishment or modification of any rights accruing by virtue of any agreement lease or licence for the purpose of searching for or winning any mineral or mineral oil or the premature termination or cancellation of any such agreement lease or licence shall be deemed to be void on the ground that it is inconsistent with or takes away or abridges any of the rights conferred by article 14 article 19 or Art 31
 Then follows a proviso with which we are not concerned
The effect of a notification under section 41 of the Act read with section 5b is to prevent an owner or lessee of a mine from working his mine far a certain period of time
His rights are thus modified by the notification
According to Mr Das however the effect of the notification is to suspend the rights of a mine owner or lessee of the mine for a certain period and that such suspension is not modification
In this connection he relied upon the observations of Mahajan J as he then was in Thakur Raghbir Singh vs Court of Wards Ajmer 1
That was a case where in connection with a notification issued under the Court of Wards Act the learned Judge observed that the word modification used in the aforesaid provision of the Constitution does not include suspension of a right
The observations made in that case fell for consideration by this Court in Sri Ram Ram Narain Medhi vs The State of Bombay 2 and Atma Ram vs The State of Punjab and Ors
Explaining them this Court observed in the latter case Those observations must be strictly limited to the facts of the case and cannot possibly be extended to the provisions of Acts wholly dissimilar to those of the Ajmer Tenancy and Land Records Act XLII of 1950 which was the subject matter of the challenge in the case then before this Court
This Court held on a construction of the provision of that Act that they only suspended the right of management but did not amount to any extinguishment or modification of any proprietary rights 1  1053
2 1959 Supp
SCR 489 519 3 1959 SUPP
SCR 748 767
62 in an estate
The provisions of the Act then under consideration of this Court have absolutely no resemblance to those of the Act now before us and it is impossible to put a similar interpretation on these provisions
In the recent decision of this Court not yet reported this Court had been invited to apply the observations of this Court referred t o above to the provisions of the Bombay Act
It was pointed out in that case that those observations of Mahajan J as he then was must be read as limited to an Act which only brings about a suspension of the right of management of an estate and could not be extended to the provisions of an Act which either extinguishes or modifies certain rights of a proprietor in an estate or a portion thereof
This Court did not intend to lay down as law in Thakur Raghbir Singh vs Court of Wards Ajmer 1 that article 1Aie is inapplicable to a case where the property rights of a person are kept in abeyance for a certain period
The meaning of the word modify fell to be considered in re The As pointed out in the opinion of Kania C J the word modify means according to Oxford Dictionary to limit restrain to assuage to make less severe rigorous or decisive to tone down
It also means to make partial changes in to alter without radical transformation
In Rowland Burrows Words and Phrases  the word modify has however been defined as meaning vary extend or enlarge limit or restrict
According to the learned Chief Justice It has been held that modification implies an alteration
it may narrow or enlarge the provisions of the former Act
Bearing in mind the principle that a constitutional enactment must be construed liberally we would be right in according the dictionary meaning to the word  modification occurring in the aforesaid provision
Mr Das however contends that for a thing to amount to a modification of a right it must be of a permanent character and not of a temporary duration
We see no ground whatsoever for holding that for a 1  1053
2 63 thing to be a modification it must be of a permanent duration
A right may well be modified for all time or for a limited duration and in either case the right must be regarded as having been modified
For these reasons we hold that the provisions of article 31A cl
1e debar the petitioners from challenging the validity of sections 4 and 5 of the Act on the ground that they infringe the provisions of article 312 of the Constitution
What remains to be considered is whether the provisions permitting acquisition of land are ultra vires the Constitution because they offend article 312 of the Constitution
According to the learned Attorney General the petitioners have no present grievance on that score because the notification in question empowers the State only to prospect for coal in the petitioner s land and not to acquire it
We cannot accept this contention
The whole object of Parliament in enacting the law was to empower the State to acquire coal bearing lands
Prospecting on a piece of land for coal is merely a stage preceding the actual acquisition of that land
If therefore those provisions of the law which deal with the question of acquisition are unconstitutional the whole Act will be rendered unconstitutional
Article 312 of the Constitution as amended by the Fourth Amendment Act 1955 runs thus No property shall be compulsorily acquired or requisitioned save for a public purpose and save by authority of a law which provides for compensation for the property so acquired or requisitioned and either fixes the amount of the compensation or specifies the principles on which and the manner in which the compensation is to be determined and given and no such law shall be called in question in any court on the ground that the compensation provided by that law is not adequate
Mr Das pointed out that section 13 of the Act though it deals with the payment of compensation does not contain any provision for payment of compensation for mineral rights
Not only that but the explanation to cl
a of section 5 clearly lays down that in computing the 64 compensation for the land the value of minerals will not be taken into account
The acquisition of mineral rights would therefore according to him be impermissible under article 312 without payment of compensation
The learned Attorney General quite rightly pointed out that section 13 deals with the whole subject of payment of compensation to the owner or lessee of the mine for his entire interest in the land including the rights to minerals and even though that section specifically says that the value of the minerals cannot be taken into account in determining the amount of compensation the concluding words of article 312 preclude the petitioners from challenging the law
Mr Das pointed out that the only ground on which the Central Government in their affidavit have tried to sustain the validity of the provisions relating to the acquisition of land under the Act is that a challenge to the validity of the law is barred by the provisions of article 3lA1e and that it is not now open to the Central Government to say that the law can be sustained on another ground
We cannot accept this contention
Where the validity of a law made by a competent legislature is challenged in a Court of law that Court is bound to presume in favour of its validity
Further while considering the validity of the law the court will not consider itself restricted to the pleadings of the State and would be free to satisfy itself whether under any provision of the Constitution the law can be sustained
There is no doubt that the entire Act cannot be sustained by resorting only to article 31A1e or to article 312A of the Constitution because these provisions do not deal with the question of acquisition and the Attorney General fairly admitted that it could not be so sustained
The opening words of sub section
2 of section 13 read thus Where the rights under a mining lease are acquired under this Act there shall be paid to the person interested compensation the amount of which shall be a sum made up of the following items namely 
Then follow the items which have to be added up Undoubtedly they are items of expenditure and 65 interest on such expenditure
Sub section 3 deals with the procedure to be adopted where the rights acquired under section 9 relate only to part of the land covered by the mining lease
Sub section 4 deals with the compensation to be paid where the mining lease ceases to have effect for any period under cl
b of section 5
Subsection 5 provides for payment of compensation for any land acquired under section 9 and lays down the principles to be followed in computing the compensation
Sub section 6 provides for payment of com pensation for damage done to the surface of any land or any works thereon and in respect whereof no provision for compensation is made elsewhere in the Act
Sub section 7 deals with the question of compensation for maps charts and other documents
Section 14 of the Act deals with the method of determining the compensation
It will be clear from these provisions that the Act specifies the principles on which and the manner in which the compensation should be determined and given
This is all that is required of a law relating to the acquisition of property by article 312 of the Constitution
Where provisions of this kind exist in a law that Article lays down that such law cannot be called in question in any court on the ground that the compensation provided by that law is not adequate
Here compensation is specifically provided for the land which is to be acquired under the Act
The land includes all that lies beneath the surface or as Mr Das put it all that is locked up  in the land
Parliament has laid down in sub B 5 of section 13 how the value of this land is to be calculated
The contention that the provisions made by Parliament for computing the amount of compensation for the land do not take into account the value of the minerals is in effect a challenge to the adequacy of the compensation payable under the Act
The concluding words of article 312 preclude such a challenge being made
But Mr Das contended that the minerals are separate tenement and have to be separately compensated for
We have already dealt with the contention of Mr Das that the minerals underlying the surface are a separate tenement and we need not repeat here all 66 that we have said before
In our opinion the minerals cannot be regarded as a separate tenement except perhaps in a case of a trespass and therefore there is no question of the law providing for a separate compensation for them
Apart from that if minerals have become a separate tenement then the present Act may not apply to such a tenement at all
As we have pointed out the coal contained in the two collieries in question is not held by the respective petitioners as a tenement separate from the surface
In the circumstances the challenge to the validity of the Act on the ground that it offends article 314 of the Constitution fails and we dismiss the petition with costs
We must say a few words about W P 242 of 1960
Out of 737 bighas of land held by the petitioner in that writ petition we are informed that 321 bighas have been worked
The workingof this mine was closed in the year 1928 on the ground that the mine was flooded
An application Was made by the petitioner for reopening the mine on June 5 1957
Repeated reminders were sent subsequently but there was no reply to any of them either
In its application the petitioner it may be stated did not apply for opening new mines
Since the necessary permission was not received it did not commence any operations
We are informed that over a million tons of coal was extracted by the petitioner from its colliery in the past
Even so we do not think that any different considerations could apply to the petitioner s case from those which apply to the case of the Burrakar Coal Co The petitioner s colliery was also dormant for too long a period and was thus an unworked mine
The impugned Act and the notification made thereunder both apply to it in the same way as they apply to the Sudamdih colliery belonging to Burrakur Coal Co Ltd The writ petition thus fails and is dismissed with costs
Cost of the hearing be paid half and half by the two petitioners
There will be only one hearing fee to be divided equally between the two petitioners
Petitions dismissed


Summary:
Section 76 of the  provides that where the owner of a mine is a private company any one of the shareholders thereof may be prosecuted and punished under this Act for any offence for which the owner of the mine is punishable
The appellant who was a shareholder and a director of a private company owning a colliery was prosecuted for an offence under section 74 Of the Act for contravention of Regulations 107 and 127 Of the Coal Mines Regulations 1957
He challenged the validity of the prosecution on the grounds 1 that section 76 of the Act in pur suance of which he who was not himself the owner of the colliery but only one of the directors and shareholders had been prosecuted was void as it violated article 14 of the Constitution of India and 2 that the Coal Mines Regulations 1957 were invalid as they had been framed in contravention of section 59 3 of the Act inasmuch as there was no consultation with a Mining Board before they were published as required by that sub section
It was not disputed that when the Regulations were framed no Mining Board as required under section 12 Of the Act had been con stituted
and so there had been no reference to any such Board 34 but it was alleged that there was consultation with the Mining Board constituted under section 10 of the Mines Act 1923
Held 1 that the words any one in section 76 of the  should be interpreted as every one and that under that section every one of the shareholders of a private company owning the mine was liable to prosecution
Accordingly section 76 did not contravene article 14 Of the Con stitution
Chief Inspector of Mines vs Lala Karam Chand Thapar  followed
2 that compliance with the provisions in section 59 3 Of the Act was mandatory
State of U P vs Manbodhan Lai Srivastava 1958 section C R 533 distinguished
Quaere whether consultation with the Mining Boards con stituted under the provisions of the Mines Act 1923 would be sufficient compliance with section 59 3 Of the