Imported minerals fall outside the mining law regime; State control over legally imported ilmenite was held without jurisdiction.

The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and the State rules framed under it govern mining, transport, storage and related controls for minerals within India, and do not extend to legally imported minerals brought from abroad. Section 23C is aimed at preventing illegal mining and the movement or storage of illegally mined minerals, not regulating imported goods supported by customs documentation and duty payment. The Tamil Nadu rules, being derived from the parent Act, cannot operate extra-territorially against imported minerals, and the Mineral Conservation and Development Rules, 2017 also cannot be applied where the parent enactment itself is inapplicable. On those facts, State interference with imported ilmenite was held to be without jurisdiction.

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Issues: (i) Whether the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and the rules framed thereunder apply to minerals imported from outside India and whether the State authorities can interfere with their discharge, transportation, storage and use on that basis.

Analysis: The scheme of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 governs reconnaissance, prospecting, mining and transport of minerals within India and is not a regime for imported minerals mined outside the country. Section 4 and the connected provisions are directed to mining operations and storage or transport of minerals in that statutory context. Section 23C, as understood from the statutory purpose, is meant to prevent illegal mining and the transportation and storage of illegally mined minerals; it does not extend to the regulation of legally imported minerals. The Tamil Nadu Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage of Minerals and Mineral Dealers Rules, 2011, being traceable to the parent Act, cannot be given extra-territorial operation so as to regulate imported minerals. The Mineral Conservation and Development Rules, 2017 also cannot be pressed into service against imports when the parent enactment itself does not apply. On the facts, the ilmenite was imported from Norway, supported by customs documents and payment of duty.

Conclusion: The State authorities had no jurisdiction to interfere with the import and movement of the imported ilmenite on the footing of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 or the State rules, and the writ petition seeking restraint against such interference was allowed.

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