N Criminal Appeal No 261 of 1976
Appeal by Special Leave from the Judgment and order dated 2 12 1975 of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in Criminal Misc
Petition No 206475
D V Patel Naunitlal and Miss Kiran Singh for the Appellants
P P Rao K Narayan Rao and G N Rao for the Respondent
93 The Judgment of the Court was delivered by JASWANT SINGH J
The appellants who are Directors of Tandur and Navandgi Stone Quarries Private Limited and holders of a mining lease for extraction of lime stones Shahabad Stones are being prosecuted in the Court of Munsif Judicial Magistrate First Class Tandur for the alleged violation of Rule 21 1ii of the Mineral Conservation and Development Rules 1958 which is made punishable under Rule 27 of the said Rules in that they failed to employ a qualified geologist or a mining engineer
they made an application before the trial Magistrate urging by way of preliminary objection that the complaint against them was not maintainable in view of the fact that the Shahabad Stones  Which were being extracted by them were used fol
building and construction purposes and as such were minor minerals which were specifically excluded from the purview of the Rules
The Magistrate dismissed the application holding that what was being operated by the appellants was a mine for the purpose of the provisions of Rule 21 of the Mineral Conservation and Development Rules D 1958 
The appellants thereupon moved the High Court for quashing the aforesaid criminal proceedings pending against them reiterating that as the Shahabad Stones which they were extracting were used for building purposes and were described as minor minerals in Item 15 of Schedule I to the Andhra Pradesh Minor Mineral Concession Rules 1966 hereinafter referred to as MMC Rules 1966 the complaint against them was not tenable The High Court dismissed the application holding that the inherent powers possessed by it under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 could be invoked and exercised only when the facts alleged in the complaint if they are accepted to be correct at their face value do not make out an offence with which the accused is charged
The High Court further held that merely because the Shahabad Stones  were included in Schedule I to Rule 10 of the MMC Rules it could not be said straightway that the Stones which were being extracted by the appellants were minor minerals and that some evidence regarding their user was necessary for determination of the question as to whether the appellants were entitled to the benefit of the provision of Rule 2 of the MMC  D Rules which Provided that the MMC Rules do not apply to the minor minerals
It is this refusal of the High Court to quash the proceedings which has given rise to the present appeal
It is now well settled that the High Court does not ordinarily interfere at an interlocutory stage of a criminal proceedings pending in a subordinate Court
Bearing in mind the well recognised principles of law governing the matter and taking into consideration the nature of 94 the impugned order we think the High Court was right in declining to grant relief to the appellants
It is also not a matter in which we may legitimately interfere in exercise of our extraordinary powers under Article 136 of the Constitution specially when the case is at its threshold and evidence has still to be adduced as to whether the minerals extracted could or could not be used as a major mineral for certain purposes
It must be realised that it is not possible to determine difficult question of the kind involved in the instant case purely in abstract without relevant evidence bearing on the matter in issue
Accordingly we dismiss the appeal
Our order will not however be interpreted as barring the appellants from raising any defence or contention that may be open to them before the trial court which will dispose of the same in accordance with law uninhibited by any observations made by it earlier or by the High Court in the course of its Order dismissing the application under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973
SR Appeal dismissed


Summary:
Shahabad Stones are included under Item 15 in Schedule I to Rule 10 of the Andhra Pradesh Minor Mineral Concession Rules 1966
The appellants who are directors of Tandur and Navandgi Stone Quarries Pvt Ltd and holders of mining lease for extraction of lime stones Shahabad Stones when being prosecuted for the alleged violation of Rule 211ii of the Mineral Conservation and Development Rules 1958 which is made punishable under Rules 27 of the said rules in that they failed to employ a qualified geologist or a mining engineer raised a preliminary objection as to the maintainability of the complaint in view of the specific exclusion of the Shahabad Stones from the purview of the 1958 Rules being a minor mineral being used for building and construction purposes
The trial magistrate dismissed the application and the High Court declined to interfere under Section 48 of the Criminal Procedure Code 1973
Dismissing the appeal by special leave the Court  HELD As the High Court does not ordinarily interfere at an interlocutory stage of a criminal proceedings pending in a subordinate Court the AP High Court was right in declining to grant relief to the appellants bearing in mind the well recognised principles of law governing the matter and taking into consideration the nature of the impugned order
It is also not a matter in which Supreme Court may legitimately interfere in exercise of their extra ordinary powers under article 136 of the Constitution especially when the case at its threshold and evidence has still to be adduced as to whether the minerals extracted could or could not be used as a major mineral for certain purposes
It is not possible to determine difficult question of the kind involved in the instant case purely in abstract without relevant evidence bearing on the matter in issue
93G H 94A B