Hon'ble Judges/Coram:
O. Chinnappa Reddy and R.S. Pathak JUDGMENT
O. Chinnappa Reddy, J.
1. Entry 23 of List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution is, "Regulation of mines and mineral development subject to the provisions of List I with respect to regulation and development under the control of the Union". Entry 54 of List I of the Seventh Schedule is "Regulation of mines and mineral development to the extent to which such regulation and development under the control of the Union is declared by Parliament by law to be expedient in the public interest". Thus while 'regulation of mines and mineral development is ordinarily a subject for State legislation, Parliament may, by law, declare the extent to which control of such regulation and development by the Union is expedient in the public interest, and, to, that extent, it becomes a subject for Parliamentary legislation. Parliament has accordingly enacted the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957. By Section 2 of the Act it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that the Union should take under its control the regulation of mines and the development of minerals to the extent thereafter provided.
It is now common ground between the parties that result of the declaration made by
parliament, by Section
2 of the Act, the state legislatures are denuded of the whole of their legislative power
with respect to regulation of mines and mineral development and that the entire legislative field has been taken over by
Parliament.