A statutory mining lease creates a protected leasehold interest...

A statutory mining lease creates a protected leasehold interest and property under Article 300A, so suspension of mining operations must rest on lawful authority and comply with natural justice. The suspension order was held void because the lessee received no hearing, the order rested on an erroneous view that environmental clearance had lapsed, and the State did not establish the jurisdictional facts or authority required under the relevant rules; later explanations could not cure those defects. The lost period was treated as wrongfully denied enjoyment, not as a fresh grant or renewal, so Section 8A did not bar compensatory addition. Delay, laches, and res judicata were rejected on the facts, and the lessee was entitled to the added lease period subject to compliance.

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