IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL Writ Petition No. 1457 of 2008 (M/S) M/s Bora Natural Sand and Stone Industries Village Bameta Bangar, P.O. Halduchour, District Naintial through its Proprietor Jitendra Singh Bora son of Sri Virendra Singh Bora, Village Bameta Bangar, P.O. Halduchour, District Nainital. …….. Petitioner. Versus State of Uttarakhand through its Secretary Forest, Civil Secretariat Dehradun and four others. … Respondents. Sri Anil Kumar Joshi, learned counsel for the petitioner. Sri K.P.Upadhyay, learned Additional C.S.C. for the State-respondents no. 1 to 3. Date August 20, 2008. Hon’ble B.S. Verma, J. This writ petition has been filed for issue a writ order or direction in the nature of mandamus commanding the respondents not to charge transit fee from the petitioner while lifting and transporting the finished product of minor mineral to various places. According to the petitioner, the petitioner is proprietorship firm and is carrying on the business of manufacturing and sale of finished produce of minor mineral (RBM). The petitioner has been duly authorized by respondent no. 2 to store and sell the minor mineral after applying manual manufacturijng process. The petitioner firm is registered with the District Industries Centre as a small-scale industry for manual processing of minor mineral vide Annexure No.2. The petitioner has also obtained no objection certificate from the Uttarakhand Polltion Control Board for screening of sand. Copy of the N.O.C. has been annexed as Annexure No. 3 to the writ petition. Petitioner purchases the RBM from various lessees of the riverbed of Gola River and carrries the same to his factory-premises. Lessee used to issue transit pass in Form MM-11 under the provisions of U.P. Minor Mineral (Concession) Rules 1963. The Forest Department is levying and collecting transit fee on the raw material while carrying on the raw material from the riverbed of Gola River and passing through the forest areas under the provisions of Uttar Pradesh Transit of Timber and other Forest Produce Rules, 1978. The said Rules clearly provides that the transit fee is payable on timber and forest produce only and the riverbed material like stone boulders, stone grits and stone chips cannot be included in the definition of forest produce. By Notification dated 30-9-1999 the State Government notified transit fee on stone grits under the U.P. Transit of Timber and other Forest Produce Rules 1978 (copy Annexure NO. 5 to the writ petition). The grievance of the petitioner is that the petitioner has been paying transit fee on raw material but the respondents in most arbitrary manner are charging transit fee again on the finished goods of minor mineral. Copy of receipt has been annexed as Annexure No. 6. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record. In the course of arguments, learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the facts of the present writ petition are similar to the facts of Writ Petition No. 310 of 2005 (M/B) M/s Kumaon Pea Gravel Aggregate Manufacturing Co. and another Vs. State of Uttaranchal and three others and the controversy involved in the present writ petition stands resolved by the Division Bench judgment of this Court dated 30-03-2005 passed in said petition, wherein it has been held that transit fee cannot be realized twice on the same material under Uttar Pradesh Transit of Timber and Forest Produce Rules, 1978. Learned counsel for the petitioner further submitted that the present writ petition is also squarely covered by the judgment and order dated 24-6-2008 passed in Writ Petition No. 953 of 2008 (M/S) M/s Vinod Stone Products Vs. State of Uttarakhand and two others. Learned counsel urged that this writ petition may be allowed in terms of the judgment dated 30-3-2005 passed in the aforesaid writ petition. Learned counsel for the Sate-respondents has fairly conceded the above facts. I have perused the Division Bench judgment of this Court passed in Writ Petition No. 310 of 2005 (M/B) as well as the order dated June 24 2008 passed by this Court in Writ Petition (M/ S) No. 953 of 2008, which, too, was decided in terms of that judgment. The facts of the present writ petition are almost identical to the facts of the Writ Petition No. 310 of 2005(M/B). In my view this writ petition deserves to be allowed in terms of the Division Bench Judgment dated 30-3-2005. Accordingly, the writ petition is allowed in terms of Division Bench judgment dated 30-3-2005 passed in Writ Petition No. 310 of 2005 (M/B) M/s Kumaon Pea Gravel Aggregate Manufacturing Co. and another Vs. State of Uttaranchal and three others. The respondents are directed, by a writ of mandamus, not to realize transit fee on the finished goods of the petitioner. Costs easy. All pending applications stand disposed of. (B.S. Verma, J.) RCP