ivil Appeal No 1 278 of 1978
Appeal by special leave from the Judgment and Order 15 11 1976 of the Delhi High Court in Civil Writ No 96 of 1971
B Dutta for the Appellant
Soli J Sorabjee Addl
General and R N Sachthey for Respondents 1 and 2
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by CHINNAPPA REDDY J
We granted special leave and heard arguments on the limited question whether brick earth is a minor mineral  within the meaning of that expression as defined in Section 3 e of the 
The definition is as follows Minor mineral  means building stones gravel ordinary clay ordinary sand other than sand used for prescribed purposes and any other mineral which the Central Government may by Notification in the official Gazette declare to be minor mineral  In exercise of the power conferred by Section 3e of the Act the Central Government declared the following minerals to be minor minerals Boulder Shingle Chalcedony pebbles used for ball mill purposes only limeshell kanker and limestone used for lime burning murrum brick earth fuller s earth bentonite road metal reh matti slate and shale when used for building material The submission of the learned Counsel for the appellant was that a substance had to be a mineral before it could be notified as a minor mineral pursuant to the power under Section 3e of the 
He urged that brick earth was not a mineral and therefore it could not be notified a minor mineral
We agree with the learned Counsel that a substance must first be a mineral before it can be notified as a minor mineral pursuant to the power vested in the Central Government under Section 3e of the Act
The question therefore is whether brick earth is a mineral
The expression Minor Mineral as defined in Section 3e includes ordinary clay  and ordinary sand 
If the expression minor mineral as defined in Section 3e of the Act includes ordinary clay  and 273 ordinary sand  there is no reason why earth used for the purpose A of making bricks should not be comprehended within the meaning of the word any other mineral which may be declared as a minor mineral by the Government
The word mineral is not a term of article It is a word of common parlance capable of a multiplicity of meaning depending upon the context
For example the word is occasionally used in a very wide sense to denote any substance that is neither animal nor vegetable
Sometimes it is used in a narrow sense to mean no more than precious metalls like gold and silver
Again the word minerals is often used to indicate substances obtain 
ed from underneath the surface of the earth by digging or quarrying
But this is not always so as pointed out by Chandrachud J as he then was in Bhagwan Dass vs State of Uttar Pradesh1 where the learned judge said at p 874 It was urged that the sand and gravel are deposited on the surface of the land and not under the surface of the soil and therefore they cannot be called minerals and equally so any operation by which they are collected or gathered cannot properly be called a minerals operation
It is in the first place wrong to assume that mines and minerals must always be sub soil and that there can be no minerals on the surface of the earth
Such an assumption is contrary to informed experience
In any case the definition of mining operations and minor minerals in section 3d and e of the Act of 1957 and Rule 2S and 7 of the Rules of 1963 shows that minerals need not be subterranean and that mining operations cover every operation undertaken for the purpose of Winning any minor mineral
Winning does not imply a hazardous or perilous activity
The word simply means extracting a mineral and is used generally to indicate any activity by which a mineral is secured
Extracting in turn means drawing out or obtaining
A tooth is extracted  as much as the fruit juice and as much as a mineral
Only that the effort varies from tooth to tooth from fruit to fruit and from mineral to mineral
We may also refer to Northern Pacific Railway Company vs John A Sodrberg2 where the Supreme Court of United States observed as follows at page 581 The word mineral  is used in so many senses dependant upon the context that the ordinary definitions of the dictionary throw but little light upon its significance in a 1  2 47 L Fd575 274 given case
Thus the scientific division of all matter into the animal vegetable or mineral kingdom would be absurd as applied to a grant of lands since all lands belong to the mineral kingdom and therefore could not be excepted from the grant without being destructive of it
Upon the other hand a definition which would confine it to the precious metals gold and silver would so limit its application as to destroy at once half the value of the exception
Equally subversive of the grant would be the definition of minerals found in the Century Dictionary as any constituent of the earth s crust  and that of Beinbridge on Mines All the Sub stances stances that now form or which once formed a part of the solid body of the earth
Nor do we approximate much more closely to the meaning of the word by treating minerals as substances which are mined as distinguished from those are quarried since many valuable deposits of gold copper iron and coal lie upon or near the surface of the earth and some of the most valuable building stone such for instance as the Caen stone in France is excavated from mines running far beneath the surface
This distinction between under ground mines and open workings was expressly repudiated in Midland C vs Haunchwood Brick  Tile Co LR 20 Ch
552 and in Hext vs Gill LR 7 Ch
699 The Supreme Court of United States also referred to several English cases where stone for road making or paving was held to be minerals  as also granite sandstone flint stone gravel marble fire clay brick clay and the like
It is clear that the word mineral  has no fixed but a contextual connotation
The learned Counsel for the appellant invited our attention to the decision of the Court of Appeal in Todd Birleston and Co vs The North Eastern Railway Col and to Stoud s Judicial Dictionary to urge that clay brick earth and the like have sometimes been held not to be minerals by English Courts
As we said earlier the word mineral is an elastic word whose meaning depends upon the setting in which it is used
For instance in the case cited the question was whether clay forming the surface or subsoil and constituting the land compulsorily taken for the purposes of a railway was not a mineral WITH the meaning of Sections 77 78 or 79 of the Railway Clauses Consolidation Act
The answer was that clay  was not a mineral for the purposes of the Railway Clauses Consolidation Act
Any other conclusion in the context of the Act would have led to the absurd 1 1903 I KB 603 
275 result that the original owner whose land had been taken would be entitled to dig and take away the clay from the land on which the Railway was constructed thus defeating the very object of the compulsory taking
On the other hand as noticed by the Supreme Court of the United States in several English cases clay gravel sand stone etc has been held to be minerals
That is why we say the word mineral has no definite meaning but has a variety of meanings depending on the context of its use
In the context of the Mines and Minerals Regulation  Development Act we have no doubt that the word mineral  is of sufficient amplitude to include brick earth 
As already observed y us if the expression minor mineral  as defined in the Act includes ordinary clay  and ordinary sand 
there is no earthly reason why brick earth  should not be held to be any other mineral  which may be declared as minor mineral
We do not think it necessary to pursue the matter further except to say that this was The view taken in Laddu Mal vs State of Biharl Amar Singh Modilal vs State of Haryana2 and Sharma  Co vs State of UP3
We do not agree with the view of the Calcutta High Court in State of West Bengal vs Jagadamba Prasad 4 that because speaks of ordinary earth  as a mineral it is not a minor mineral as defined in the Mines and Minerals Regulation  Development Act
The appeal is accordingly dismissed with costs
SR Appeal dismissed 1 AIR 1965 Patna 491 2 AIR 1972 Punj
 Har 356 3 AIR 1975 All 86
4 AIR 1969 Cal


Summary:
section 3e of the Mines and Mineral Regulation and Development Act 1957 defines  Minor Mineral  as meaning building stones gravel ordinary clay ordinary sand other than sand used for prescribed purposes and any other mineral which the Central Government may by Notification in the official Gazette declare to be a minor mineral
In exercise of the power conferred by section 3e of the Act the Central Government declared inter alia brick earth as a minor mineral 
Dismissing the appeal by special leave the Court  HELD  I  The word mineral  has no fixed but a contextual connotation
If mineral  is not a term of art it is a word of common parlance capable of multiplicity of meanings depending upon the context
The word is occasionally used in a very wide sense to denote any substance that neither animal nor vegetable Sometimes it is used in a narrow sense to mean no more than precious metals like gold and silver
Again the word minerals  is often used to indicate substances obtained from underneath the surface of the earth by digging or quarrying
though it is not always so
273 A C 274 F In the context of the  the word Mineral is of sufficient amplitude to include brick earth
If the expression minor mineral  as defined in the Act includes ordinary clay and ordinary sand 
there is no earthly reason why brick earth should not be held to be any other mineral  which may be declared as a minor mineral 
1275 B C Bhagwan Das vs State
Of UP   applied Laddu Mal vs State of Bihar AIR 1965 Pat 491 Amar Modilal Singh vs State of Haryana AIR 1972 Punjab and Haryana 356 Sharma  Co vs State of UP AIR 1975 All 386 approved
State of West Bengal vs Jagdamba Prasad AIR 1969 Cal
281 overruled
Todd Birleston  Co vs The North Eastern Railway Co 1903 I KB 603 quoted with approval
2 A substance must first be a mineral before it can be notified as a minor mineral pursuant to the power vested in the Central Government under section 3e of the Act
Brick earth being a mineral
the Central Government has correctly notified it as a minor mineral 
272 G H 272