New Delhi: The Supreme Court has junked pleas seeking review of its July 25 verdict, which ruled that legislative power to tax mineral rights vests with the states.
The eight-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said: "Having perused the review petitions, there is no error apparent on the face of the record. No case for review under Order XLVII Rule 1 of the Supreme Court Rules 2013 has been established. The review petitions are, therefore, dismissed”. The apex court passed the order on September 24, but it was uploaded recently.
Besides the CJI, the review order was signed by Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Abhay S Oka, JB Pardiwala, Manoj Misra, Ujjal Bhuyan, Satish Chandra Sharma and Augustine George Masih.
The bench also rejected the plea for listing the review petitions in an open court. “Applications for listing the review petitions in open Court are rejected”, said the bench. According to the apex court rules, review petition is considered in chambers of judges without the presence of counsel through circulation of documents.
Justice BV Nagarathna, who had dissented from the majority in the July 25 verdict by holding that only the Centre has the power to levy the tax on mineral rights, passed a separate order in the review petitions also. "Having perused the review petitions, a case for review under Order XLVII Rule 1 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 is made out," said Justice Nagarathna, while issuing notice to the Centre and the states. Justice Nagarathna allowed the prayer for open court hearing.
On July 25, in an 8:1 majority verdict, the top court in a landmark decision held that the legislative power to tax mineral rights vests with the states and the royalty paid on minerals was not a tax.
On August 14, in a major victory for mineral-rich states, the top court allowed them to recover from the Centre and mining companies royalty and tax dues on mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands worth thousands of crore of rupees since April 1, 2005 over a period of 12 years.
