KARNATAKA RARE EARTH vs SR.GEOLOGIST,DEPTT.OF MINES&GEOLOGY — C.A. No. 3618 - 3619/1999

SUMMARY The Supreme Court dismissed Karnataka Rare Earth's appeals against the State's demand for payment of mineral prices for granite blocks extracted and exported during the pendency of their mining lease appeals. The Court held that the State's recovery of mineral prices under Section 21(5) of the Mines and Minerals Development & Regulation Act 1957 was compensatory, not penal, as it restores the State to the position it would have occupied absent the interim court orders that protected the appellants' mining operations. Since the appellants lost their appeals, they cannot retain benefits gained under vacated interim orders. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.