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TMI Blog1969 (9) TMI 131X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... m) Ltds in Marian District Sib-sagar. It manufactures commercial plywood, decorative plywood, tea chests and other things and the raw material of comes from the forest reserves of Assam. On 7th April, 1956 an agreement of lease was entered by the petitioned with the Governor of Assam where By the Petitioner was granted by the Government the sole right to fell logs, remove trees and timber of the species referred to in Schedule B annexed to the document. The lease was for a period of 20 years with an option of renewal. Clause 18 of the lease which is relied upon by the Petitioner, is in the following terms (18) (a) Rates of Royalty:- That the lessee will during the period upto the 30th September. 1956 commencing; from the date of these pres ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of the Government of Assam shall be final and binding on the parties thereto. 2. The Petitioner states that there were certain specified rates of royalty appearing in Schedule 'B' which were governing from the date of the presents to 30th September. 1956 at 6-11-6p. per C. Ft. and the same were revised on 30th October, 1956 to Rs. 2/- per C. Ft. which was later reduced on representation of the Petitioner to Rs. 1.37 P. per C. Ft. by letter dated 28th January, 1958, and the Petitioner paid at the reduced rates without any objection for the period 1956-59. Before the commencement of the second period, the Chief Conservator of Forests wrote to the Petitioner on 8th September, 1959 with regard to revision of royalty rates for the pe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... -62 at the 1956-59 rates and the dues at the rate of Rs. 2.25 P. per C. ft. from 1962 up-to-date. (Annexure 'XV to the counter-affidavit). The Companies were informed that if they pay as ordered in this letter, they will be allowed extraction of timber under the terms of the lease pending further decision regarding realization of dues at enhanced rate with retrospective effect for the period '59-62', On the above facts shortly put, the questions are: (1) Whether Government's revision of royalty for the period 1959-62 made after the expiry of the period (namely on 20-11-62 when the Cabinet took the decision or on 13-12-62 when it was communicated) is authorised under Clause 18 (a) of the agreement? (2) Whether Governmen ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... was vested when the notification under Section 17 was published. Mr. Ghose submits that the agreement dated 7-4-56 is a contract in writing made in pursuance of Rule 21, and, as such, the terms thereof are statutory and can be enforced by a Writ. Rule 21 clearly shows that no one has any right in or over a reserved forest except as laid down under the provisions of that rule. This rule authorises the Government to grant rights over reserved forest under a contract in writing. This is one of the methods open to the Government to grant various rights to persons in a reserved forest. Rule 21 enables the Government to follow a particular method, namely as in this case, to grant certain rights under a contract in writing. The contract entered ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mmodity he manufactures out of the raw material. The Petitioner is also unnecessarily burdened' with the increase of royalty after the commodities had been sold out on the basis of price calculated at the rate of the royalty then obtaining. The argument is not without force, but the appeal must be to the Government and not to the Court to give relief if really hardship and injustice have ensued to any party. The Court under Article 226 is confined to administer the law in accordance with the trite and well-recognised principles. Unless the case is brought within the four corners of the tests necessary for inducing the Court to exercise its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution, it will decline to act. We would not therefore be ju ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rity is necessary it may be sufficient to refer to a recent decision of the Supreme Court, in AIR 1966 SC 334, Lekhraj Sathrarndas Lal-vani v. N.M. Shah, Deputy Custodian-cum-Managing Officer, Bombay, wherein the following passage appears at para 5 of the report: In our opinion any duty or obligation falling upon a public servant out of a contract entered into by him as such public servant cannot be enforced by the machinery of a Writ under Article 226 of the Constitution. Then Lordships further held that the decisions in AIR 1936 PC 269, Commr. of Income Tax, Bombay Presidency and Aden v. Bombay Trust Corporation Ltd. and AIR 1947 Cal 307, P.K. Banerjee v. L.J. Simonds lay down the correct law on the point regarding the writ of manda ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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