ISSUE:
Whether Rule 8-C, which reserves the exploitation of black granite for the State or State-owned corporations, is valid under the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957, and whether it improperly limits competition in violation of constitutional principles?
Whether the imposition of a royalty on granite stone extracted from quarries in Tamil Nadu by the State violates the constitutional provisions regarding freedom of trade and commerce under Article 19(1)(g) of the Indian Constitution?
RULE:
The State government has the power to make rules and regulations under the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957, and such power includes the authority to regulate mining activities, even to the extent of creating monopolies for government-run corporations when done in the public interest.
The delegated power must be exercised in alignment with the public interest and within the framework established by the primary legislation.
Rule 8-C of the Tamil Nadu government regulations allows the State to exclusively control the mining of black granite, asserting that public interest justifies such an arrangement.