IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) FRIDAY, THE THIRTY FIRST DAY OF OCTOBER TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE L.NARASIMHA REDDY WRIT PETITION NO : 19892 of 2008 Between: Ch. Shashi Kumar S/o. Late Sri C. Sree Ramulu R/o. Hyderabad. ..... PETITIONER AND 1 The Government of India, Rep. by its Secretary, Ministry of Mines, New Delhi. 2 The Government of Andhra Pradesh, Rep. by its Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department, Secretariat, Hyderabad. 3 The Director of Mines and Geology, BRKR Building, 8th Floor, Tank Bund Road Hyderabad. 4 The Asst. Director of Mines and Geology, Ananthapur. .....RESPONDENT(S) Petition under Article 226 of the constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the Aﬃdavit ﬁled herein the High Court will be pleased to to issue an order or writ one in the nature of writ of Mandamus declaring the action of the respondent No.2 in not processing my application over the undisputed area in over an extent of 244.25 Hects. in Bellary Reserve Forest in Sy.No.1 of H. Siddapuram and Malpanagudi Villages, B.R.F. Rayadurg Taluk, D. Hirehal Mandal, Ananthapur District for prior approval under Section 5(1) of Mines & Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act 1957 for grant of Prospecting Licence for Iron Ore as arbitrary illegal, unjust and inviolation of Article 14 of Constitution of India and contrary to Mines & Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act 1957 and Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 and pass such other order or orders Counsel for the Petitioner:SMT.N.SHOBA Counsel for the Respondent No.: GP FOR MINES AND GEOLOGY The Court made the following : THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE L.NARASIMHA REDDY WRIT PETITION NO : 19892 of 2008 ORDER: The petitioner submitted an application on 11.05.2005 for grant of prospecting licence over an extent of 809 hectares of land in Survey No.1 of Reserve Forest of Siddapuram and Malpanagudi Villages, Rayadurg Taluk, Ananthapur District. Out of this, mining lease is said to have been granted in favour of M/s.Obulapuram Mining Company Private Limited, for 68.5 hectares. It is also stated that on the strength of an application, dated 05.11.2003, ﬁled by M/s. S.J.K.Steel Corporation Limited, recommendation was made for grant of 206 hectares, out of the said land. The grievance of the petitioner is that thought various applications are being dealt with, the one presented by him is not being processed. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Government Pleader for Mines and Geology. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and the Rules made thereunder prescribe the procedure for processing the applications for prospecting licences or mining leases. The application ﬁled by the petitioner for prospecting licence is pending for the past 3 years. If the application is untenable, on any grounds, it either needs to be rejected or the petitioner must be informed about the deficiencies. It cannot be kept pending indeﬁnitely, particularly, when the applications of other agencies over the same area are being considered. Therefore, the writ petition is disposed of, directing the respondents to process the application submitted by the petitioner on 11.05.2005 and take necessary steps, within a period of three months, from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. There shall be no order as to costs. _________ 31.10.2008 JSU ..... REGISTRAR // TRUE COPY // SECTION OFFICER To 1.2CCs to 2.2CD copies Form-NIC-OGS/WP{VSMI} THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE L.NARASIMHA REDDY WRIT PETITION NO : 19892 of 2008 Date: 31.10.2008 JSU