Civil Appeal No 1250 of 1968
From the Judgment and Order dated 17 4 1967 of the Calcutta High Court in Appeal from Original Decree No 25569
DV Patel HK Puri SK Gupta P Dayal and MC Dhingra for the Appellant
PK Chatterjee and GS Chatterjee for the Respondent
JASWANT SINGH J
This appeal by certificate granted under Article 1331a and c of the Constitution which is directed against the judgment and decree dated March 25 1968 of the High Court of Calcutta in Appeal No 255 of 1963 raises important questions relating to the interpretation of certain provisions of the Bihar Land Reforms Act 1950 Act XXX of 1950 hereinafter referred to as the BLR Act  as also of the Mining Leases Modification of Terms Rules 1956 providing for the modification and alteration of terms and conditions of the mining leases granted prior to the commencement of the Mines and Minerals Regulation and Development Act 1948 Act 53 of 1948 hereinafter re ferred to as the 1948 Act  and of the Act 67 of 1957 hereinafter referred to as the 1957 Act  which replaced the 1948 Act on June 1 1958
The facts and circumstances leading to this appeal are By an indenture of
lease dated July 31 1927 hereinafter referred to as the head lease  Raja Bishambharnath Sahi hereinafter referred to as the Raja  who was the sole proprietor of large tracts of land known as the Sonepura estate in Paragana Rohtas in the district of Shahbad in Bihar demised certain blocks of land situate in villages Jaintipur Nimhath Deodand and Dhanwanti District Shahbad together with quarries of lime stone known as Chunhatta Lime Stone Quarries lying thereunder for a period of 40 years commencing from 1st day of August 1927 and ending on 31st day of July 1967 with an option to continue for a further period of 25 years in consideration of a salami and fine  of Rs 8200 unto Karunaranjan Dutt and Jugal chandra Dutt hereinafter referred to as Dutts 
By the said indenture the head lessees inter alia undertook to pay to the Raja during the first 15 years of the said period of 40 years of the lease ie from the 1st day of August 1927 to 31st day of July 1942 royalty at the rate of annas 10 ten 62 paise for every 100 cubic feet ie roughly at 15 12 paise per ton of solid lime stone quarried raised got used or taken out from the demised premises and for the remaining 25 years of the lease ie from the 1st day of August 1942 to 31st day of July 1967 royalty at the rate of annas 15 fifteen 94 paise instead of annas 10 ten for every 100 cubic feet ie roughly at 24 paise per ton of solid lime stone quarried raised got used or taken out from the demised premises
The aforesaid royalty was made payable quarterly ie after every three months on the fixed dates specified in the indenture of lease
The head lessees also undertook to pay yearly rent of annas 6 sux per acre subject to the maximum of Rs 100 for so much of the surface land as was to be entered upon used or occupied by them for the purpose of placing stocking and beeping stones or waste materials and rubbish etc
The lease deed further provided as follows  That the LESSEES  shall be at liberty red competent without obtaining any further consent of the LESSOR to 362 assign and transfer this lease or sublet or part with the possession of the demised premises or any part thereof to any person firm or company whether incorporated or otherwise and no mutation fee or Nazarana or premium shall be charged by the LES SOR  in case of such transfer or subletting for the first time but in case of subsequent transfer or sub letting a fee of Rupees five hundred 500  shall be payable to the LESSOR  for each such occasion
If the rents and royalties hereby reserved or any part thereof or any other moneys hereunder payable by the LESSEES  to the LESSOR  shall remain unpaid for three months after the same shall become due and payable the LESSEES  shall pay interest thereon at the rate of twelve 12 per cent per annum calculated from the due date until payment
If the same shall remain unpaid for three years consecutively or if there be any breach of any of the conveyants and agreements herein con tained and on the part of the LESSEE  to be per formed and observed then this lease shall be liable to be forfeited under an order of a competent court besides any other relief hereunder and under the law then prevailing
 On October 12 1928 the head lessees ie Dutts execut ed a sublease of the aforesaid blocks of land and quarries of lime stone for the residue of the period of the aforesaid indenture of lease dated July 1927 except the last day thereof for a consideration of Rs 5000in favour of the appellant
The appellant undertook to pay to Dutts the same royalty and rent as were payable by Dutts to the Raja during the period of the aforesaid head lease in respect of lime stone quarried except for ballast or building pur poses
In addition the appellant undertook to pay to the head lessees during residue of the first 15 years of the said period of 40 years royalty of annas 16 sixteen for every 100 cubic feet of solid lime stone quarried raised got or used or taken out from the demised premises and for the remaining 25 years thereafter of the said period for each such quantity royalty of annas 11 eleven
The sub lease gave option to the appellant to make payment to the head lessor directly of royalties in terms of the aforesaid head lease whether the head lessees were to make default or not in making payment of the same
On February 15 1929 Dutts transferred by a deed of assignment all their rights title and interest under and by virtue of the aforesaid indenture of head lease and the sub lease dated October 12 1928 to the respondent
The appellant had due notice of the said assignment and accepted the respondent as its lessor in place of Dutts
On September 8 1948 the Central Legislature passed the 1948 Act under Entry 36 of List I of Seventh Schedule to the Government of India Act 1935
Section 5 of the Act empow ered the Central Government to make rules for regulating the grant of mining leases or for prohibiting the grant of such leases in respect of any mineral or in any area
Section 7 of the Act empowered the Central Government to make rules for the purpose of modifying or altering the terms and conditions of any existing mining lease granted prior to the commencement of the Act so as to bring such lease into conformity with the 363 rules made under section 5
In exercise of the powers conferred on it by section 5 of the Act the Central Govern ment made the Mineral Concession Rules 1949
Both the 1948 Act and the Mineral Concession Rules 1949 came into force on October 25  1949
The provisions of the Mineral Conces sion Rules 1949 did not apply to leases or sub leases granted prior to October 25 1949
On September 25 1950 the BLR Act came into force
This Act as apparent from its preamble was enacted for the purpose transference to the State of the interests of the proprietors and tenure holders  in land and of mortgagees and lessees of such interests in eluding interest in mines and mineral etc
Sections 3 and 3A of the BLR Act which dealt with vesting of estates or tenures in the State provided as follows  31 The State Government may from time to time by notification declare that the estates or tenures of a proprietor or tenure holder speci fied in the notification have passed to and become vested in the State  3A1 Without prejudice to the provision in the last preceding section the State Government may at any time by notification declare that the intermediary interests of all intermediaries in the whole of the State have passed to and become vested in the State
2 It shall be lawful for the State Govern ment if it so thinks fit to issue from time to time a notification of the nature mentioned in sub section 1 in respect of the intermediary interests situate in a part of the State specified in the notification and on the publication of such notification all intermediary interests situate in such part of the State shall have passed to and become vested in the State    On November 14 1951 the estate of Sonepura belonging to the Raja passed to and became vested in the State of Bihar by virtue of notification No 83 IRZAN dated November 6 1951 issued by the Governor of Bihar in exercise of the power con ferred on him by sub section 1 of the above quoted section 3 of the BLR Act
On January 1 1956 the Governor of Bihar issued notification No EVII 10256 ILR reading as under  No EVII IO2 56 ILR
 Whereas a proclama tion announcing the intention of the State Government to take over all the intermediary interest in the district of Shahbad Patna Saran Muzafferpur Bhagal Sonthal Paraganas Ranchi Singhbhum Manbhum and excluding Manbhum Sadar Sub Division was published under notifica tion No 4381 LR dated the 18th August 1955 as required by sub section 1 of section 3B of Bihar Land Reforms Act 1950 Bihar Act XXX of 1950
Now therefore in exercise of the powers conferred by sub section 2 of section 3A of the said Act the Government of Bihar is pleased to declare that all such intermediary interests in the said districts excluding Manbhum Sadar 364 sub Division have passed to and become vested in the State with effect from the date of this Notifi cation
 On September 4 1956 the Government of India made rules under section 7 of the 1948 Act for modifying or altering the terms and conditions of the existing leases being Mining Leases Modifica tion of Terms Rules 1956
Clause c of rule 2 of the Rules defined existing mining lease as meaning a mining lease granted before October 25 1949 and subsisting at the commencement of the 1956 Rules but not including any such lease in respect of i natural gas ii petroleum iii coal or iv any minor mineral within the meaning of clause c of section 3 of the Act
The 1948 Act was replaced by the 1957 Act which came into force on June 1 1958
Section 9 of the 1957 Act provided as follows  9
Royalties in respect of mining leases  1  The holder of a mining lease granted before the commencement of this Act shall notwith standing anything contained in the instrument of lease or in any law in force at such commencement pay royalty in respect of any mineral removed by him from the leased area after such commencement at the rate for the time being specified in the Second Schedule in respect of that mineral
2 The holder of a mining lease granted on or after the commencement of this Act shall pay royalty in respect of any mineral removed by him from the leased area at the rate for the time being specified in the Second Schedule in respect of that mineral
3 The Central Government may by notifica tion in the official gazette amend the Second Schedule so as to enhance or reduce the rate at which royalty shall be payable in respect of any mineral with effect from such date as may be speci fied in the notification Provided that the Central Government shall not a fix the rate of royalty in respect of any mineral so as to exceed twenty per cent of the sale price of the mineral at the pit s head or b enhance the rate of royalty in respect of any mineral more than once during any period of four years
 This section was amended in 1972 by Act No 56 of 1972
The amended section in so far as it is relevant for our purpose runs as follows  91  The holder of a mining lease granted before the commencement of this Act shall notwith standing anything contained in the instrument of lease or in any law in force at such commencement pay royalty in respect of any mineral removed or consumed by him or by his agent manager employee contractor or sub lessee from the leased area after 365 such commencement at the rate for the time being specified in the Second Schedule in respect of that mineral
2 The holder of a mining lease granted on or after the commencement of this Act shall pay royalty in respect of any mineral removed or con sumed by him or by his agent manager employee contractor or sub lessee from the leased area at the rate for the time being specified in the Second Schedule in respect of that mineral
2A   3 The Central Government may by notifica tion in the official Gazette amend the Second Schedule so as to enhance or reduce the rate at which royalty shall be payable in respect of any mineral with effect from such date as may be speci fied in the notification Provided that the Central Government shall not enhance the rate of royalty in respect of any mineral more than once during any period of four years
 Section 29 of the Act provided for the effec tive continuance of the rules made or purporting to have been made under the 1948 Act in so far as they
related to matters provided for in the former Act and were not inconsistent therewith
By the Bihar Amendment Ordinance No 3 of 1964 which was subsequently replaced by the Bihar Land Reforms Amendment Act Bihar Act 4 of 1965 the BLR Act was amended by introduction of section 10 A which runs as follows  10 A Vesting of interest of lessee of mines or minerals which is Subject to a sub lease 1 The interest of every lessee of mines or minerals which is subject to a sub lease shall with effect from such date as may be notified in this behalf by the State Government in the Official Gazette vest in the State and thereafter the sub lessee whose lease is not subject to any further sub lease shall hold his lease directly under the State Government and the provisions of subsections 2 and 4 of section 10 shall mutatis mutandis  apply to his lease
2 No sub lessee of mines or minerals holding under a lessee whose interest vests in the State Government under sub section 1  shah be entitled to claim any damages from his lessor on the ground that the terms of the lease in respect of the mines or minerals have become incapable of fulfilment by the operation of this section
 Purporting to act under the Mining Leases Modification of Terns Rules 1956 the Controller of Mining Leases an officer appointed by the Central Government for the purpose of implementing the rules by his order dated August 8 1959 enhanced the royalties payable under the aforesaid lease dated July 31 1927 to 37 Naya Paise per ton
366 In exercise of its option under the sub lease dated October 12
1928 the appellant paid rent and royalty payable by the head lessee in respect of the aforesaid Chunhatta quarries under the aforesaid indenture of lease dated July 31 1927 directly to the
Raja upto the date immediately preceding the date of the aforesaid vesting of the interest of the Raja in the State of Bihar under the BLR Act
After the date of the vesting of the interest of the Raja in the State of Bihar the appellant started paying directly to the State the said royalty at the rate of 24 paise per ton
The appellant also continued paying additional royalty at the rate of 17 paise per ton to the respondent in terms of the sub lease dated October 12 1928 but stopped doing so from July 1 1958
The respondent thereupon brought a suit on JUly 10 1961 being suit No 1104 of 1961 on the original side of the High Court at Calcutta claiming a decree for 1 Rs 2518127 as arrears of royalty from July 1 1958 to August 7 1959 the date immediately preceding the date on which the Controller enhanced the royalty payable to the State to 37 paise 2 Rs 3222364 as arrears of royalty at the rate of annas 11 eleven from August 8 1959 to March 31 1961 3 Rs 144400 on account of deficit payment for the overdue period in respect of royalty for the quarters ending June 30 1957 September 30 1957 December 31 1957 and June 30 1958
It also claimed interest on the aforesaid amounts at the rate of 12 per cent per annum
The respondent based his claim on the ground that notwithstanding the issues of the aforesaid notification under section 3 of the BLR Act its interest as a lessee under the lease which continued to subsist did not vest in the State of Bihar and it became and still continued to be a lessee under that State from the date of the aforesaid notification under section 3 of the BLR Act
The appellant contested the suit averring inter alia that while the position of Dutts in respect of the mines under the aforesaid blocks of land was that of the tenure holders under the Raja its own position was that of the lessee in possession and that from November 14 1951the date of vesting of the Sonepura estate in the State of Bihar the proprietary right of the Raja in the aforesaid mine ceased to exist and the respondent became an intermediary in re spect thereof directly Under the State of Bihar from the said date and the appellant continued to be a lessee in possession under the respondent
The appellant denied that the interest of the respondent in the mine was that of the lessee or that from the date of the aforesaid notification under section 3 of  the BLR Act the respondent became a lessee of the said mine directly under the State and averred that it continued to be the lessee in possession of the said mine under the respondent as before
The appellant further averred that in any event the respondent s right to receive additional royalty from the former in terms of the aforesaid sub lease dated October 12 1928 ceased to exist from January 1 1956 when the interest of the latter as tenure holder in the Chunhatta Lime Stone Quarries came to vest in the State
The appellant Further averred that due to ignorance of the publication of the notification dated January 1 1956 and bonafide mistake arising therefrom
it continued paying additional royalty to the respondent in terms of the sub lease dated October 12 1928 for the period beginning from
January 1 1956 to the end of June 1958 which the latter had no 367 right to receive and was refundable to it with interest thereon at the rate of six per cent
The appellant alterna tively pleaded that assuming without admitting that the interest of the respondent in the Chunhatta quarries did not vest in the State of Bihar either by notification dated November 14 1951 or under notification dated January 1 1956 and that the respondent continued to be a lessee under the lease dated July 31 1927 even then the appellant was under the sub lease dated October 12 1928 liable to pay royalty only at the rate of annas 15 fifteen per 100 cubic feet as provided in the lease dated July 31 1927 and an additional royalty of annas 11eleven per 100 cubic feet aggregating Rs 110 per 100 cubic feet equal to 24 Naya Paise plus 17 Naya Paise per ton calculating 100 cubic feet as equivalent to 4 tons for the period commencing from August 1 1942 to May 31 1958 that the respondent being a holder of the mining lease within the meaning of section 9 of the 1957 Act was liable to pay royalty at the rate of 37 Naya Paise per ton in respect of the minerals removed from the said quarries from June 1 1958 and since payment to the tune of Rs 6168440 on that account upto March 31 1961 had been made by the appellant as an agent of the respondent to safeguard its position and enjoyment of the leasehold property the former was entitled to be reim bursed to that extent
In conclusion the appellant aimed to set off the aforesaid sum of Rs 6168440 and subse quent payments of royalty against the royalty that might be payable to the respondent under the sub lease dated October 12 1928 in respect of the minerals removed from the leased quarries from June 1 1958 upto March 31 1961 and thereafter
The appellant however admitted that it had paid the additional royalty to the respondent as stipu lated in the sublease dated October 12 1928 upto June 30 1958 only
By his judgment dated July 23 1963 Sankar Prasad Mitra J of the High Court of Calcutta to whom the suit had been assigned passed a decree in favour of the respondent to the extent of Rs 4794410 as the princi pal sum and Rs 888790 on account of interest holding inter alfa that the respondent was not an intermediary or tenure holder in respect of the estate in suit under BLR Act  and its interest did not vest in the State of Bihar as a result of the aforesaid notification dated November 6 1951 or the notification dated January 1 1956 that the holder of a mining
lease as envisaged by the BLR Act could be a lessee or a sub lessee that it was the lessee or the sub lessee who removed the minerals from the mine that had to pay royalty at the rate specified in the Second Schedule to the 1957 Act and as it was the appellant and not the respondent that removed the minerals from the quarries during the relevant period the provisions of section 9 of the 1957 Act could not be invoked for realization of royal ties from the latter and that if the appellant had paid any sum in excess of the sum stipulated in the indenture of lease dated July 31 1927 it did so entirely at its own choice and risk
The learned Single Judge further held that section 69 of the Contract Act had no application to the facts of the present case
The learned Judge however disallowed the claim of the respondent so far as the item of Rs 1144 was concerned
Aggrieved 368 by this judgment and decree the appellant preferred an appeal before a Division Bench of the High Court which proved abortive
While affirming the findings of the Single Judge the Division Bench held that the interest of the respondent did not vest in the State Government at the material time and the appellant continued to be sublessee under the respondent bound by the terms of the sub lease and that the liability to pay royalty to the State at 37 paise per ton from the date of coming into force of the 1957 Act fell on the appellant
Dissatisfied with the judgment and decree of the Division Bench of the High Court the appel lant has as already stated come up in appeal to this Court
Appearing in support of the appeal Mr Patel has ad vanced two contentions
He has in the first instance invit ed our attention to the definitions of intermediary  intermediary interest  lease  tenure  and tenure holder  contained in clauses jj jjj 1 q and r respectively of section 2 as also sections 3 3A 4 and 9 of the BLR Act and stressed that as the respondent was merely a tenure holder  and all his rights title and interest as such extinguished alongwith the interest of the erstwhile proprietor of the suit land ie the Raja with the coming into force of Notification No 83 IRZAN supra on November 14 1951 and it was the appellant who being a sub lessee stepped in as a direct lessee of the mine in question under the State the respondent was not entitled to claim with effect from November 14 1951 the additional royalty stipulated in the sub lease dated October 12 1928
He has further urged that assuming that the respondent enjoyed the status of a head lessee even then its right title and interest as such having become extinct and vested absolutely in the State without the encumbrance of the lease at least from January 1 1956 the date of Notification No EVII 10256 ILR supra it could not claim the said addi tional royalty after December 31 1955
These contentions which appear to be based upon a misconception of the true legal position cannot be accepted
The respondent could not be said to be a tenure holder as contemplated by the afore said section 2r of the BLR Act as he had neither ac quired from the Raja by virtue of the lease dated July 31 1927 a right to hold the land mentioned therein for the purpose of collecting rent nor a right to hold the land for bringing it under cultivation by establishing tenants on it
The right of the respondent as a head lessee of the mines and minerals also did not cease and the appellant did not acquire the status of the lessee as contended by Mr Patel
The consequences of vesting of an estate or tenure in the State are set out in section 4a of the BLR Act
According to this provision on the publication of the notification under sub section 1 of section 3 or sub section 1 or 2 of section 3A of the BLR Act the estate or tenure mentioned in the notification including the interests of the proprietor or the tenure holder com prised in such estate or tenure and his interest in all sub soil including any right in mines and minerals inclusive of such right of a lessee of mines and minerals comprised in such estate or tenure vests absolutely in the State free from all encumbrances and such proprietor or tenure holder has to cease to have any interests in such estate or tenure other than 369 the interests expressly saved by or under the provisions of the Act
The last words of section 4a of the BLR Act viz other than the interests expressly saved by or under the provisions of the Act are pregnant with the meaning
They unequivocally show that those interests which are expressly saved by or under the provisions of the Act are not affected or impaired by the aforesaid notifications
Now according to section 10 of the BLR Act which itself is in the nature of a non obstante provision overriding other provisions of the Act every lease of mines and miner als comprised in the notified estate or tenure or any part thereof which may be subsisting immediately before the date of vesting has to be treated with effect from the date of vesting  as a lease from the State Government to the holder of the said subsisting lease for the residue of the term of that lease and such holder acquires the right to retain possession of the leasehold property for that peri od
In other words in place of every contractual lease which might have been subsisting immediately before the date of vesting of the estate or tenure a statutory lease on practically identical terms and conditions comes into being
Thus the combined reading of section 4a and section 10 of the BLR Act leaves no room for doubt that the interests of the head lessee were left unaffected by the aforesaid notifications to the extent indicated above
This view receives support from a catena of decisions of this Court where this position has been fully recognised and affirmed
See Bihar Mines Ltd vs Union of India1 Chhatu Ram Horil Ram Private Ltd vs State of Bihar  Anr2 Ms Hindu stan Steel Limited Rourkela vs Smt
Kalyani Banerjee  Orsa and State Of Bihar  Anr
vs Khas Karanpura Collieries Ltd4
The insertion of section 10 A in the BLR Act by the Bihar Amendment Ordinance No 3 of 1964 which was subse quently replaced by the Bihar Land Reforms Amendment Act Bihar Act 4 of 1965 also indicates that the law as it obtained prior to the aforesaid amendment was not intended to have the effect of divesting a lessee of his interests in a lease of mines or minerals comprised in the estate or tenure or part thereof which subsisted immediately before the vesting of a notified estate or tenure
We must here deal with what has been tried to be im pressed upon us by Mr Patel in regard to this aspect of the matter by reading out to us a passage from Craies on Statute Law The counsel has strongly urged that since it is not strictly permissible to interpret a statute by reference to what has been said in subsequent statutes resort cannot be had to the provisions of section 10 A which was intro duced in the BLR Act in 1964 while interpreting section 10 of before the introduction of the said section
We also find ourselves unable to accept this contention and to disregard the well settled canon 1  2  3  
4  370 that sometimes light may be thrown upon the meaning of an Act by taking into consideration parliamentary expositions  as revealed by the later Act which amends the earlier one to clear up any doubt or ambiguity
This principle has to be followed where as in the instant case a particular construction of the earlier Act will render the later incor porated Act ineffectual or otiose or inept
See Krikness vs John Hudson  Co1
This view also receives support from the decision of this Court in Yogendra Nath Naskar vs
CIT Calcutta where approving the authoritative pronouncement in Cape Brandy Syndicate vs IRC3 that the subsequent legislation may be looked at in order to see the proper construction to be put upon an earlier Act where that earlier Act is ambiguous it was held that the language employed in Income Tax Act 1961 may be relied on as a Parliamentary exposition of the earlier Act IT Act 1922 even on the assumption that the language employed in Sec tion 3 of the earlier Act is ambiguous
It follows from the above discussion that the estate comprised in the head lease in the instant case which was assigned to the respondent notionally stood leased by the State from the date of vesting to the holder of the subsist ing lease for the remainder of the term of the lease and the respondent became entitled to retain possession of the leasehold property
The first contention of Mr Patel is therefore repelled
Mr Patel has next contended that as the royalty payable to the lessor was enhanced under the provisions of the 1957 Act read with the Mining Leases Modification of Terms Rules 1956 which continued in force by virtue of section 29 of the 1957 Act and the enhanced royalty was payable by the respondent who was the holder of the mining lease as envisaged by section 9 of the 1957 Act the appellant was entitled to be reimbursed to the extent of Rs 6168440 which was paid by him as an agent of the respondent
This contention has to be examined with reference to two periods viz i from July 1 1958 to August 7 1959 and ii August 8 1959 to March 31 1961
It is admitted by the appellant that during the period intervening between the date when the 1957 Act came into force and August 8 1959 when the Controller passed the aforesaid order enhancing the royalty
payable to the State it continued to pay the said royalty at the old rate of 24 paise per ton and was never required to pay the same at the enhanced rate of 37 paise
No question of reimbursement for this period can therefore arise
The position however with regard to the second period from August 8 1959 to March 31 1961is not free from difficulty and has to be examined with reference to the provisions of section 9 of the 1957 Act and of the Mining Leases Modification of Terms Rules 1956 as also of the provisions of section 9 of the BLR Act
Whereas according to counsel for the appellant it is the respondent which being the holder of lease as contemplated by section 9 of the 1957 Act that has to bear the burden of royalty payable to the State in accordance with the requirements of Second Schedule to the 1957 1 19551 AC 696 HL 2  3 371 Act according to counsel for the respondent as the expres sion mining lease used in section 9 of the 1957 Act has been defined in section 3c of the Act as including a sub lease  and the mineral has actually been removed by the appellant the liability for payment of enhanced royalty squarely falls on the appellant
There is yet another aspect of the matter which may reasonably be urged in accordance with the ratio of the decisions of this Court in Bihar Mines Ltd vs Union of India supra and Ms Hindustan Steel Limited Rourkela vs Smt
Kalyani Banerjee  Ors
supra where it was unequivocally laid down that a statuto ry lease held by a head lessee from the State Government being a new lease granted after October 25 1949 and not being an existing lease it could not be modified and when the head lease not being an existing mining lease could not be modified the sub lease could also not be modified as it too would be deemed to be a new lease granted by the new lessee from the State Government
In view however of the fact that neither the Union of India nor the Controller of Mining Leases is a party to the case before us and the aforesaid order dated August 8 1958 appears to have been passed by tile Controller of Mining Leases with the agree ment of the parties hereto we do not consider ourselves called upon to resolve the conflicting contentions advanced before us by counsel for the parties
For the purpose of this appeal it would suffice to observe that in view of Exhibit L  reproduced at pages 280 to 282 of the Paper Book the burden of payment of the royalty for the second period also is to be borne by the appellant and the question of his being re imbursed by the respondent cannot be counte nanced
The second contention raised by Mr Patel also therefore fails
In the result the appeal fails and is dismissed
In the peculiar circumstances of the case the parties are left to pay and bear their own costs of the appeal
PBR Appeal dismissed


Summary:
The proprietor of large tracts of laud leased blocks of land to
the lessees at a stipulated rate of royalty and rent
The lessees sub leased the land to the appellant who undertook to pay the lessees the same royalty and rent
payable by them to the proprietor
They also agreed to pay an additional royalty to the head lessee
The sub lease gave an option to the appellant to make payment of royalty directly to the head lessor in terms of the head lease
The lessees transferred their rights title and interest in the head lease and sub lease to the respondent
By virtue of a notification under section 3 of the Bihar land Reforms Act 1950 the estate belonging to the head lessor passed to and became vested in the State
Another notifica tion issued under section 3A of the Act declared that all inter mediary interests in certain districts had passed to and became vested in the State
In exercise of its option under the sub lease the appel lant paid rent and royalty directly to the head lessor and the additional royalty to the head lessee respondent but stopped payment of additional royalty to the respondent in terms of the sub lease from July 1 1958
On August 8 1959 Controller of Mines and Leases for India passed an order enhancing the royalty payable to the State and in c19 of the order it was stated that royalty will be
payable to State Government by the appellants in accordance with section 9 of the Mines and Minerals Regulation  Develop ment Act 1957 and dead rent according to the order passed in these proceedings
 The respondent filed a suit claiming arrears of additional royalty
The High
Court decreed the suit
In appeal to this Court it was contended that i since the respondent was merely a tenure holder and all its rights title and interest as such extinguished alongwith the interest of the erstwhile proprietor with the coming into force of the 1950 Act it was the appellant as a sub lessee that became a direct lessee of the State and there fore the respondent was not entitled to claim additional royalty
ii since the enhanced royalty was payable by the respondent which was paid by the appellant the appellant was entitled to reimbursement to the extent it paid the amount as agent of the respondent
Dismissing the appeal HELD 1a A combined reading of sections 4a and 10 of the 1950 Act leaves no room for doubt that the interests of the head lessee were left unaffected by the notifications
369 D b The respondent could not be said to be a tenure holder as contemplated by the 1950 Act as it had neither acquired from the head lessor by virtue of the lease a right to hold the land for the purpose of collecting rent nor a right to hold the land for bringing it under cultivation by estab lishing tenants on it
The right of the respondent as a head lessee of the mines and minerals also did hot cease and the appellant did not acquire the status lessee
According to section 4a of 1950 Act on the publication of the notifications the interests of the proprietor or tenure holder comprised in such estate or tenure inclu sive of such right of a lessee of mines and minerals com prised 7 1104 SC I76 360 in such estate or tenure vest absolutely in the State free from encumbrances and such proprietor or tenure holder has to cease to have any interest in such estate or tenure other the interest expressly saved by or under the provisions of the Act
The last words of section 4a of the Act namely other than the interest expressly saved by or under the provisions of the Act unequivocally show that those inter ests which are expressly saved are not  affected or im paired by the notifications
According to 910 which itself is in the nature of a non obstante provision overriding other provisions of the Act every lease of mines and miner als comprised in the notified estate or tenure or any part thereof which may be subsisting immediately before the date of vesting has to be treated with effect from the date of vesting as a lease from the State Government to the holder of the said subsisting lease for the residue of the term of that lease and such holder acquires the right to retain possession oF the leasehold property for that period
In other words in place of every contractual lease which might have been subsisting immediately before the date of vesting of the estate or tenure a statutory lease on practi cally identical terms and conditions came into being
368 F H 369 A C Bihar Mines Ltd vs Union of India   Chhatu Ram Horil Ram Private Ltd vs State of Bihar  Anr    Ms Hindustan Steel Ltd Rourkela vs Smt
Kalyani Banerjee   and State of Bihar Anr
vs Khas Karsmpura Collieries Ltd etc
1977 I SCR 157 followed
c The introduction of s10A in the 1950 Act indicates that the law as it obtained prior to the amendment was not intended to have the effect of divesting a lessee of his interests in a lease of mines or minerals which subsisted immediately before the vesting of a notified estate or tenure
369 F 2 In view of the order passed by the Controller that the appellant agreed to say the enhanced royalty the burden of payment is to be borne by the appellant and the question of its being reimbursed by the respondent does not arise
371 D 3 The contention that it is not permissible to inter pret a statute by reference to what has been said in subse quent statutes with reference to the situation obtaining before the introduction of the amendment is not well found ed
Sometimes light may be thrown upon the meaning of an Act by taking into consideration Parliamentary expositions  as revealed by the later Act which amends the earlier one to clear up any doubt or ambiguity
This principle has to be followed where a particular construction of the earlier Act will render the later incorporated Act ineffectual or otiose or inept
370 A Krikness vs John Hudson  Co  Yogendra Nath Naskar vs
CIT Calcutta  Cape Brandy Syndicate vs
IRC referred to
In the instant case resort can be had to the provisions of section 10A introduced in 964 while interpreting section 10 of the 1950 Act with reference to the situation obtaining at the relevant time before the introduction of section 10A
The estate comprised in the head lease which was assigned to the re spondent notionally stood leased by the State from the date of vesting to the holder of the subsisting lease and the respondent became entitled to retain possession of the leasehold property
370D