Case Note & Summary
A batch of writ petitions was filed before the High Court of Karnataka challenging the validity of Notification No. FEE/23/2007-08 dated 16.08.2008 issued by the State of Karnataka under Section 98A of the Karnataka Forest Act, 1963, and published in the Official Gazette on 27.08.2008. The lead petition, W.P. No.2642/2009, was filed by National Mineral Development Corporation Limited (NMDC Ltd.), a government company, seeking a declaration that the notification was ultra vires Article 246 read with Entry 54 of the Union List, the Karnataka Forest Act, 1963, and the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. Other petitioners included Vedanta Limited (formerly Sesa Goa Limited), individual mining lessees, the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries, and other private mining companies. They also challenged demand notices issued by the Deputy Conservator of Forests demanding payment of Forest Development Tax under the impugned notification. The State Government defended the levy as a valid exercise of its legislative competence. The petitions were consolidated and heard together. The judgment was reserved and delivered on 03.12.2015 by a division bench comprising the Acting Chief Justice and Justice B.V. Nagarathna. The full text of the judgment is not available in the provided excerpt; consequently, the court’s reasoning, ratio decidendi, and final decision cannot be determined.
Issue of Consideration
Whether the notification dated 16.08.2008 issued under Section 98A of the Karnataka Forest Act, 1963, levying Forest Development Tax on mining leases in forest areas, is ultra vires the Constitution of India, 1950 and the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980; and whether Section 98A applies to Central Government corporations.
