Special mining rules bar cognizance on FIR alone, and criminal proceedings were quashed for lack of a written complaint.

Rule 61 of the Bihar Minerals (Concession, Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation & Storage) Rules, 2019 permits cognizance only on a written complaint by the competent mining authority or an authorised officer, so an FIR instituted in breach of that statutory mode could not sustain criminal proceedings. The High Court also noted that the petitioner was a valid licensee and, on the facts placed, the ingredients of the alleged IPC offences were not otherwise made out. Continuation of the prosecution would therefore amount to abuse of the process of court, and the FIR was quashed. Civil liability, if any, was left open.

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Issues: Whether the FIR registered for alleged offences under the Indian Penal Code and the Bihar Minerals (Concession, Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation & Storage) Rules, 2019 could be sustained when the special rules required initiation by written complaint of the competent mining authority.

Analysis: The writ petition was decided on the footing that the matter was covered by earlier precedent dealing with the same legal scheme. Rule 61 of the Bihar Minerals (Concession, Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation & Storage) Rules, 2019 permits cognizance only on a written complaint by the competent mining authority or other empowered officer. The FIR had been instituted instead of proceeding on such complaint. The Court also noted that the petitioner was a valid licensee and the allegation was not of clandestine removal without authority, so the ingredients of the alleged offences under the Indian Penal Code were not made out on the facts placed before it. In these circumstances, continuation of the criminal proceedings would amount to abuse of the process of court.

Conclusion: The FIR could not be sustained and was quashed; the writ petition was allowed.

Final Conclusion: Criminal proceedings based on the impugned FIR were held unsustainable under the special mining rules, while civil liability, if any, was left open.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the special mining rules require a written complaint by the authorised mining as the sole mode for cognizance, an FIR instituted in breach of that statutory bar cannot be sustained, particularly where the alleged ingredients of the penal offences are not otherwise made out.

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