{"id":70366,"date":"1987-05-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1987-05-04T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/raja-satyendra-narayan-singh-anr-vs-state-of-bihar-ors-on-5-may-1987"},"modified":"2018-08-04T00:54:01","modified_gmt":"2018-08-03T19:24:01","slug":"raja-satyendra-narayan-singh-anr-vs-state-of-bihar-ors-on-5-may-1987","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/raja-satyendra-narayan-singh-anr-vs-state-of-bihar-ors-on-5-may-1987","title":{"rendered":"Raja Satyendra Narayan Singh &amp; Anr vs State Of Bihar &amp; Ors on 5 May, 1987"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"docsource_main\">Supreme Court of India<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_title\">Raja Satyendra Narayan Singh &amp; Anr vs State Of Bihar &amp; Ors on 5 May, 1987<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_citations\">Equivalent citations: 1987 AIR 1390, \t\t  1987 SCR  (3) 224<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_author\">Author: S Mukharji<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_bench\">Bench: Mukharji, Sabyasachi (J)<\/div>\n<pre>           PETITIONER:\nRAJA SATYENDRA NARAYAN SINGH &amp; ANR.\n\n\tVs.\n\nRESPONDENT:\nSTATE OF BIHAR &amp; ORS.\n\nDATE OF JUDGMENT05\/05\/1987\n\nBENCH:\nMUKHARJI, SABYASACHI (J)\nBENCH:\nMUKHARJI, SABYASACHI (J)\nNATRAJAN, S. (J)\n\nCITATION:\n 1987 AIR 1390\t\t  1987 SCR  (3) 224\n 1987 SCC  (3) 319\t  JT 1987 (2)\t356\n 1987 SCALE  (1)1180\n CITATOR INFO :\n RF\t    1989 SC 682\t (13)\n\n\nACT:\n    Bihar  Land\t Reforms  Act,\t1950:  ss.  3,\t9,  10\t and\n25--Minerals  not  exploited by the ex-landlord on  date  of\nvesting\t of  the  estate--Right of  ex-intermediary  to\t get\ncompensation for such minerals.\n    Interpretation\t  of\t   Statutes--Rules\t  of\nConstruction--Statute to be read as a whole and in the\tcon-\ntext--Statutory\t rules\tto be harmoniously read\t with  Stat-\nute--Statute providing for assumption and enforcement of  an\nexisting  liability  not to be construed as  extending\tthat\nliability  or creating new one in absence of clear terms  to\nthat effect.\n\n\n\nHEADNOTE:\n    Section  3 of the Bihar Land Reforms Act, 1950  provides\nfor vesting of an estate or tenure in the State by notifica-\ntion.  Under  s. 9 from the date of such vesting  all  mines\ncomprised  in the estate or tenure, as were in operation  at\nthe  commencement of the Act and were being worked  directly\nby  the intermediary were deemed to have been leased to\t the\nintermediary and he was entitled to retain possession there-\nof. Section 10 provides for vesting of subsisting leases  of\nmines  and minerals. Section 25 provides for computation  of\ncompensation  payable  to  the intermediary  in\t respect  of\nroyalties  on  account\tof mines and  minerals\tor  directly\nworking\t mines comprised in the estate or tenure. Rule\t25-E\nof the Bihar Land Reforms Rules, 1951 deals with the  proce-\ndure  for  determination of the amount\tof  compensation  or\nannuity.\n    The\t estate of the ex-landlord comprising vast areas  of\nmineral bearing lands was vested in the State by virtue of a\nnotification  under  s. 3 of the Act with  effect  from\t 4th\nNovember, 1951. Some part of the said area was being  worked\nby  the lessees under the leases granted to them,  who\tpaid\nroyalty to him.\n    The\t ex-landlord died in 1969. His\tsuccessors-in-inter-\nest,  the appellants herein, filed writ petition before\t the\nHigh  Court  claiming compensation in respect  of  the\tcoal\nbearing\t area having coal reserves vested in the State.\t The\nHigh  Court came to the conclusion that the  ex-intermediary\nwas  not entitled to the compensation as claimed,  and\tdis-\nmissed the petition.\n225\n    In this appeal by certificate, it was contended for\t the\nappellants  that  where there are minerals  which  were\t not\ntapped and not exploited by the ex-intermediary, acquisition\nof the source of income for the intermediary would be acqui-\nsition of property, that there was no provision for  compen-\nsation\tfor  this purpose in the Act, and the  statute\twas,\ntherefore, exproprietary in nature. For the respondents,  it\nwas  contended that there was no question of  expropriation.\nThe property being not in existence, it was acquisition of a\nright  which might be a source or' income and  property\t it'\ntapped, but it was not an existing right.\nDismissing the appeal, the Court,\n    HELD  1. A statute must be read as a whole,\t fairly\t and\nreasonably.  It must be so read, if possible, and  warranted\nby the context to give effect to the manifest intent of\t the\nframer.\t So  read,  it cannot be said that  the\t Bihar\tLand\nReforms\t Act,  1950 provides for any  compensation  for\t the\nminerals not exploited. That does not make the Act unconsti-\ntutional. [232D]\n    2.\tThe  Rules  and the sections  must  be\tharmoniously\nconstrued. In the instant case, the legislature was  acquir-\ning  the estate of an ex intermediary. For all the  existing\nsources\t of his income and which were being exploited,\tcom-\npensation has been provided for. But for a right which might\nbecome\ta source of income which had not been exploited,  no\ncompensation has been provided. Where a statute provides for\nthe  assumption\t and  enforcement of an\t existing  right  or\nliability,  it will not be construed as extending  that\t li-\nability\t or  creating a new one unless it does so  in  clear\nterms. [231F]\n    Halsbury's\tLaws of England, 4th Edition, Vol. 44,\tpage\n556, paragraph 904, referred to.\n    In the instant case there is no question of interpreting\nany law which will expose the Act to constitutional infirmi-\nty.  The right was not existing at the time of\tvesting,  no\nquestion therefore, arises of depriving the  ex-intermediary\nof any right without compensation. [231G]\n    3. The basic principle of construction of every  statute\nis  to find out what is clearly stated and not to  speculate\nupon  latent imponderables. The scheme of the Act  does\t not\nsupport\t the appellant that it is exproprietary\t in  nature.\nSection 25(1)(a) and (b) deal with independent items and  s.\n25(1)(c) is a combination of the two. The other sub-sections\nmake  it quite clear. Compensation for the acquisition of  a\nsource which\n226\nwhen exploited might become property or income is not neces-\nsary.  Ownership is a bundle of rights and for the  existing\nbundle\tof rights compensation has been provided  lot.\t[231\nH-232B]\n    4.\tIt is not for the court to provide for\tcompensation\nwhere legislature has thought it fit not to do so. The\tfact\nthat compensation for existing rights has been provided\t for\nwould not expose the statute to the vice of  unconstitution-\nality  as exproprietary. Had there been such a\tpossibility,\nother considerations might have been there. The Act has been\nincorporated in Item 1 of the 9th Schedule of the  Constitu-\ntion.] [232C]\n\n\n\nJUDGMENT:\n<\/pre>\n<p>    CIVIL  APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No.  390  of<br \/>\n1981.\n<\/p>\n<p>    From  the  Judgment and Order dated 31.8.  1979  of\t the<br \/>\nPatna High Court in C.W.J.C. No. 262 of 1979 (R).<br \/>\n    M.K. Ramamurthy, A.K. Nag and Mrs. Naresh Bakshi for the<br \/>\nAppellants.\n<\/p>\n<p>Jaya Narayan and Pramod Swarup for the Respondents.<br \/>\nThe Judgment of the Court was delivered by<br \/>\n    SABYASACHI MUKHARJI, J. This appeal is directed  against<br \/>\nthe  judgment and order of the High Court of Patna,  (Ranchi<br \/>\nBench) dated 3 1st August, 1979.\n<\/p>\n<p>    It\tinvolves the question of the right of  ex-intermedi-<br \/>\naries  to get compensation for the minerals which  were\t not<br \/>\nexploited  by  the exlandlords on the date  of\tvesting\t the<br \/>\nestate\tunder  Bihar  Land Reforms  Act,  1950\t(hereinafter<br \/>\nreferred to as the &#8216;Act&#8217;).\n<\/p>\n<p>    Raja  Nilkanth Narayan Singh of Sawagarh estate was\t the<br \/>\nexlandlord whose estate vested by virtue of the notification<br \/>\nunder  the  Act\t with effect from 4th  November,  1951.\t The<br \/>\npetitioners before the High Court and the appellants  herein<br \/>\nare  the successors-in-interest being the grandson  and\t the<br \/>\ndaughter-in-law\t of  the late Nilkanth\tNarayan\t Singh.\t The<br \/>\nestate of the ex-landlord comprised, inter alia, tauzi\tNos.<br \/>\n14 and 15 of the District Collectorate of Dhanbad within the<br \/>\naforesaid  tauzis. These were vast areas of  mineral-bearing<br \/>\nlands owned by the ex-proprietor of the estate. Some part of<br \/>\nthe said area<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">227<\/span><br \/>\nwas being worked by the lessees under the leases granted  to<br \/>\nthem who paid royalty to late Nilkanth Narayan Singh, afore-<br \/>\nsaid,  who, it might be stated, died in November, 1969 in  a<br \/>\nstate of jointness with other appellants.\n<\/p>\n<p>    The\t case  of  the appellants is  that  compensation  in<br \/>\nrespect\t of the coal bearing area having coal reserves\ti.e.<br \/>\nminerals,  has not yet been paid by the State of  Bihar\t al-<br \/>\nthough the estate had vested in it as early as in  November,<br \/>\n195 1. So far as the mines that were being worked out or the<br \/>\nminerals which were the subject-matter of leases granted  by<br \/>\nthe  ex-landlord  are concerned, there was no  dispute.\t The<br \/>\nappellants are entitled to and have not been denied  compen-<br \/>\nsation in respect thereof under the Act, and the Rules.<br \/>\n    The controversy is only on the question whether the\t ex-<br \/>\nlandlord or his successor-in-interest is entitled to compen-<br \/>\nsation for the minerals which were not the subject-matter of<br \/>\nany  lease  granted  in favour of any  lessee.\tHowever,  it<br \/>\nappears,  there is no dispute on the question that had\tsuch<br \/>\nminerals been the subject-matter of a lease, the ex-interme-<br \/>\ndiary  would have been entitled to compensation\t in  respect<br \/>\nthereof in the manner provided under the Act to be  computed<br \/>\nas prescribed by the Rules.\n<\/p>\n<p>    The\t High  Court after an exhaustive discussion  of\t the<br \/>\ndifferent provisions of the Act came to the conclusion\tthat<br \/>\nex-intermediary\t is  not  entitled to  the  compensation  as<br \/>\nclaimed\t for  and as such dismissed  the  application  under<br \/>\nArticle 226 of the Constitution. Being aggrieved by the said<br \/>\ndecision, the appellants after obtaining a certificate under<br \/>\nArticle\t 133(1)\t of the Constitution have come\tup  to\tthis<br \/>\nCourt.\n<\/p>\n<p>    The\t expression &#8216;mines&#8217; used in the Act or in the  Rules<br \/>\nhad  a distinct connotation namely those minerals that\twere<br \/>\nunworked and unexcavated reserves while excavated mines\t had<br \/>\nbeen worked. The question, therefore, involves, as the\tHigh<br \/>\nCourt rightly pointed out not only the mines but with miner-<br \/>\nals  located beneath the earth, and neither being worked  by<br \/>\nex-intermediary on the date of vesting nor being the subject<br \/>\nmatter of lease in favour of any third party.<br \/>\n    The\t fights of the parties have t.o be worked out  under<br \/>\nthe  provisions of the Act. The Act in question was  an\t Act<br \/>\nwhich  was  passed to provide for the  transference  to\t the<br \/>\nState of the interests of proprietors, and tenure-holders in<br \/>\nland  and  of the mortgages and lessees\t of  such  interests<br \/>\nincluding interests in trees, forests, fisheries,  &#8216;jalkars&#8217;<br \/>\nferries,<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">228<\/span><br \/>\n&#8216;hats&#8217;, &#8216;bazars&#8217; mines and minerals, and to provide for\t the<br \/>\nconstitution  of  a Land Commission for the State  of  Bihar<br \/>\nwith  powers to advise the State Government on the  agrarian<br \/>\npolicy to be pursued by the State Government consequent upon<br \/>\nsuch transference and for other matters connected therewith.<br \/>\nOn  an\tanalysis of the scheme of the Act, it  appears\tthat<br \/>\nsection\t 3 of the Act provides for the notification  vesting<br \/>\nan  estate or tenure in the State. It provides, inter  alia,<br \/>\nthat the State Government may, from time to time, by notifi-<br \/>\ncation\tdeclare that the estates or tenures of a  proprietor<br \/>\nor tenure-holder, specified in the notification, have passed<br \/>\nto  and\t become vested in the State. There  was\t appropriate<br \/>\nnotification passed in this case. On issuance of the notifi-<br \/>\ncation,\t the estates become vested in the State.  Section  4<br \/>\ndeals  with  the consequences of vesting. It  provides\tthat<br \/>\nnotwithstanding anything contained in any other law for\t the<br \/>\ntime  being in force or in any contract, on the\t publication<br \/>\nof  the\t notification notwithstanding anything to  the\tcon-<br \/>\ntrary, certain consequences, as mentioned in section 4 would<br \/>\nfollow. Such consequences are mentioned in clauses (a), (b),\n<\/p>\n<p>(c),  (d) and (e) and other sub-clauses of section 4 of\t the<br \/>\nAct.  Section 9 deals with the mines worked by\tintermediary<br \/>\nand  it provides that with effect from the date\t of  vesting<br \/>\nall such mines comprised in the estate or tenure as were  in<br \/>\noperation  at  the commencement of the Act  and\t were  being<br \/>\nworked\tdirectly by the intermediary shall,  notwithstanding<br \/>\nanything contained in the Act, be deemed to have been leased<br \/>\nby  the\t appropriate Government to the intermediary  and  he<br \/>\nshall  be entitled to retain possession of those mines as  a<br \/>\nlessee\tthereof. The terms and conditions of the said  lease<br \/>\nwould  be  such as would be agreed upon\t between  the  State<br \/>\nGovernment and the intermediary provided that all such terms<br \/>\nand conditions shall be in accordance with the provisions of<br \/>\nany  Central  Act for the time being in\t force.\t Section  10<br \/>\ndeals  with the consequences of subsisting leases  of  mines<br \/>\nand  minerals and provides for vesting of the same.  Section<br \/>\n23  deals with computation of net income for the purpose  of<br \/>\npreparing compensation assessment-roll of the net income  of<br \/>\nthe intermediary. Section 24 deals with the rates of compen-<br \/>\nsation,\t and  provides that after the net  income  had\tbeen<br \/>\ncomputed  under section 23, the Compensation Officer  should<br \/>\nfor  the purpose of preparing  compensation  assessment-roll<br \/>\nproceed\t to determine the amount of compensation to be\tpay-<br \/>\nable  in  respect of the transference to the  State  of\t the<br \/>\ninterests of each intermediary. The table is set out in\t the<br \/>\nsection. Section 2.5. is important and deals with the compu-<br \/>\ntation\tof compensation payable for mines and minerals.\t The<br \/>\nrelevant portion of it provides, inter alia, as follows:\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\t      &#8220;25.  Computation of compensation payable\t for<br \/>\n\t      mines and minerals.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">\t       229<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\t      (1) The Compensation Officer shall prepare  in<br \/>\n\t      the  prescribed  form and\t in  the  prescribed<br \/>\n\t      manner compensation assessment-roll containing<br \/>\n\t      in respect of every intermediary in receipt of<br \/>\n\t      royalties on account of mines and minerals  or<br \/>\n\t      directly working mines comprised in the estate<br \/>\n\t      or tenure&#8211;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\t      (a) his gross income and net income from\tsuch<br \/>\n\t      royalties;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\t\t   (b)\this gross income from  mines  worked<br \/>\n\t      directly\tby him and the amount deemed  to  be<br \/>\n\t      his  net income from royalties in\t respect  of<br \/>\n\t      such mines;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\t\t   (c) the amount of compensation payable to<br \/>\n\t      him under the provisions of this Act for mines<br \/>\n\t      and minerals; and\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\t      (d)  such\t other particulars as  may  be\tpre-<br \/>\n\t      scribed.&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Then  sub-section (2) of section 25 deals with the  prepara-<br \/>\ntion of compensation roll for clause (a) of sub-section\t (1)<br \/>\nand sub-section (3) deals with the preparation of  compensa-<br \/>\ntion roll for clause (b) of sub-section (1). Sub-section (4)<br \/>\ndeals with the question whether after net income from royal-<br \/>\nties have been computed under sub-sections (2) and (3),\t the<br \/>\nCompensation Officer should proceed to determine the  amount<br \/>\nof  compensation  to be payable to the intermediary  in\t the<br \/>\nmanner\tand  in\t accordance with the  principles  laid\tdown<br \/>\ntherein.\n<\/p>\n<p>    While we are on the provisions of the Act and the Rules,<br \/>\nreference  may\tbe made to Bihar Land Reforms Rules,  195  1<br \/>\n(hereinafter  called the &#8216;Rules&#8217;), and Rule 25-E deals\twith<br \/>\nthe  procedure\tfor determining the  approximate  amount  of<br \/>\ncompensation or annuity. It provides as follows:\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\t      &#8220;25-E.   Procedure   for\t  determining\t the<br \/>\n\t      approximate amount of compensation or annuity.<br \/>\n\t      (1) The approximate amount of compensation  in<br \/>\n\t      respect  of the intermediary interests,  other<br \/>\n\t      than  that  payable for  mines  and  minerals,<br \/>\n\t      shall be the approximate net income arrived at<br \/>\n\t      in  the manner laid down in rule\t25-C  multi-<br \/>\n\t      plied by the appropriate multiple referred  to<br \/>\n\t      in  Sec. 24(1); and the approximate amount  of<br \/>\n\t      annuity  shah be equal to the approximate\t net<br \/>\n\t      income.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\t      (2) The approximate amount of compensation  or<br \/>\n\t      annuity  payable for mines and  minerals\tcom-<br \/>\n\t      prised in the estate or<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">\t      230<\/span><br \/>\n\t      tenures of an intermediary shall be worked out<br \/>\n\t      after  considering the report to\tbe  obtained<br \/>\n\t      from  the Mining Officer of the  existing\t re-<br \/>\n\t      serves in the mines or minerals and the proba-<br \/>\n\t      ble income therefrom in the future.<br \/>\n\t      (3)  The approximate amount of the total\tcom-<br \/>\n\t      pensation or annuity payable to the intermedi-<br \/>\n\t      ary shall be arrived at by adding the approxi-<br \/>\n\t      mate amount of compensation or annuity payable<br \/>\n\t      for  mines  and minerals\tto  the\t approximate<br \/>\n\t      amount  of compensation or annuity in  respect<br \/>\n\t      of his other interests:\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\t\t\t Provided that, if no such  informa-<br \/>\n\t      tion  regarding the existing reserves  in\t the<br \/>\n\t      mines  or\t minerals and  the  probable  income<br \/>\n\t      therefrom\t in  the future\t is  available,\t the<br \/>\n\t      approximate amount of compensation or  annuity<br \/>\n\t      shall  be calculated only on the basis of\t the<br \/>\n\t      net  income from the  intermediary  interests,<br \/>\n\t      other  than mines or minerals,  in  accordance<br \/>\n\t      with sub-rule (1):\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\t\t\t Provided further that the deduction<br \/>\n\t      allowed  under clause (c) and (cc) of  Sec.  4<br \/>\n\t      shall  be\t recovered  by\tdeduction  from\t the<br \/>\n\t      approximate amount of compensation payable  to<br \/>\n\t      the intermediary under this rule.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>     It\t is  clear from the facts brought out  by  the\tHigh<br \/>\nCourt  that all the mines comprised in the estate or  tenure<br \/>\nof  ex-intermediary  which were worked out directly  by\t him<br \/>\nalthough vested as a result of the provisions of section  4A<br \/>\nwere  deemed by legal fiction to be subsequently settled  by<br \/>\nthe  State Government in favour of the\tex-intermediary\t and<br \/>\nthat ex-intermediary should be deemed in law to be statutory<br \/>\nlessee\tunder the State Government in respect of  the  mines<br \/>\nwhich have been worked out by him. It is clear from  several<br \/>\nprovisions  of the Act including section 9 that there is  no<br \/>\nsection dealing with the minerals at all. In this connection<br \/>\nsections 9 and 10 may be borne in mind.\n<\/p>\n<p>    Section  25\t of  the Act envisages\tcompensation  to  be<br \/>\npayable for mines and minerals and provides that ex-interme-<br \/>\ndiary  shall be paid for the payment to the  ex-intermediary<br \/>\nwho  is\t in  receipt of royalties on account  of  mines\t and<br \/>\nminerals  or directly working mines in the estate or  tenure<br \/>\nconsisting of his gross income&#8211;namely, income of exinterme-<br \/>\ndiary,\tgross  and  net income from royalty  and  his  gross<br \/>\nincome<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">231<\/span><br \/>\nfrom mines worked directly by ex-intermediary and the amount<br \/>\ndeemed\tto  be the net income from royalties of\t his  mines;<br \/>\nunder  clause  (c)  of sub-section (1) of  section  25,\t the<br \/>\namount\tof compensation payable to him under the  provisions<br \/>\nof  the Act for mines and minerals. On behalf of  the  State<br \/>\nGovernment it was contended that this item under clause\t (c)<br \/>\nof section 25(1) was nothing additional or extra than clause\n<\/p>\n<p>(a) plus clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 25 and  he<br \/>\nsupported this submission by reference to sub-sections\t(2),<br \/>\n(3) and (4) of section 25.\n<\/p>\n<p>    According to the State, Rule 25-E of the Rules does\t not<br \/>\ncarry the matter any further. On the other hand counsel\t for<br \/>\nthe  appellants, Mr. Ramamurthy, submitted that where  there<br \/>\nare minerals which were not tapped and not exploited by\t the<br \/>\nex-intermediary,  acquisition  of source of income  for\t the<br \/>\nintermediary would be acquisition of property and no statute<br \/>\nshould\tbe  so\tread as would amount to,  specially  in\t the<br \/>\nbackground  of the constitutional provisions  prevailing  in<br \/>\n1950  when  this  Act was passed, as taking  away  right  of<br \/>\nproperty without payment of compensation. It was urged\tthat<br \/>\nthere was no provision for compensation for this purpose. If<br \/>\nit  is so read as contended for by the respondent  for\tthis<br \/>\nvaluable property of the appellants, such construction which<br \/>\nwould amount to exproprietary legislation should be avoided.<br \/>\nOn the other hand, it was submitted that there was no  ques-<br \/>\ntion of expropriation. The property was not in existence. It<br \/>\nwas acquisition of a right which might be a source of income<br \/>\nand property if tapped but it was not an existing right.<br \/>\n    The\t Rules\tand the sections must be  harmoniously\tcon-<br \/>\nstrued.\t Here  the legislature was acquiring the  estate  of<br \/>\nex-intermediary. For all the existing sources of his  income<br \/>\nand  which were being exploited, compensation has been\tpro-<br \/>\nvided  for.  But for fight which might become  a  source  of<br \/>\nincome\twhich  had not been exploited, no  compensation\t has<br \/>\nbeen  provided. Where a statute provides for the  assumption<br \/>\nand enforcement of an existing right liability, it will\t not<br \/>\nbe  construed as extending that liability or creating a\t new<br \/>\none unless it does so in clear terms. See in this connection<br \/>\nHalsbury&#8217;s Laws of England, 4th Edition, Vol. 44, page\t556,<br \/>\nparagraph 904. But here there is no question of interpreting<br \/>\nany law which will expose the Act to constitutional infirmi-<br \/>\nty.  The right was not existing at the time  of\t vesting&#8211;no<br \/>\nquestion  therefore arises of depriving\t ex-intermediary  of<br \/>\nany right without compensation.\n<\/p>\n<p>The  basic principle of construction of every statute is  to<br \/>\nfind out<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">232<\/span><br \/>\nwhat  is  clearly stated and not to  speculate\tupon  latent<br \/>\nimponderables.\tThe scheme of the Act does not\tsupport\t the<br \/>\nappellant.  Moreover section 25(1)(a) &amp; (b) deal with  inde-<br \/>\npendent items and sec. 25(1)(c) is a combination of two. The<br \/>\nother sub-sections make it quite clear. Compensation for the<br \/>\nacquisition  of a source which when exploited  might  become<br \/>\nproperty  or income is not necessary. Ownership is a  bundle<br \/>\nof  rights&#8211;for all the elements of existing ingredients  of<br \/>\nbundle\tof  rights  and for the existing  bundle  of  rights<br \/>\ncompensation  has been provided for. The statute is not\t bad<br \/>\non that ground.\n<\/p>\n<p>    It\tis  not for the court to  provide  for\tcompensation<br \/>\nwhere legislature has thought it fit not to do so. The\tview<br \/>\nwhich  we are taking in view of the fact  that\tcompensation<br \/>\nfor  existing rights has been provided for would not  expose<br \/>\nthis  statute  to  the vice of\tthe  unconstitutionality  as<br \/>\nexproprietary.\tHad  there been such  a\t possibility,  other<br \/>\nconsiderations\tmight  have  been there. The  Act  has\tbeen<br \/>\nincorporated in Item I of the 9th Schedule of the  Constitu-<br \/>\ntion.  How the respondent authorities treated this  question<br \/>\nin the initial stage is irrelevant. It is well settled\tthat<br \/>\na statute must be read as a whole, fairly and reasonably. It<br \/>\nmust  be so read, if possible, and warranted by the  context<br \/>\nto give effect to the manifest intent of the framer. So read<br \/>\nwe find that the statute does not provide for any  compensa-<br \/>\ntion for the minerals not exploited. That does not make\t the<br \/>\nAct unconstitutional. So be it.\n<\/p>\n<p>    In\tthat view of the matter, we are of the opinion\tthat<br \/>\nthe High Court was right and the appeal must therefore\tfail<br \/>\nand is accordingly dismissed. In the facts and circumstances<br \/>\nof the case, however, we make no order as to costs.\n<\/p>\n<pre>P.S.S.\t\t\t\t\t\t      Appeal\ndismissed.\n?233\n\n\n\n<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supreme Court of India Raja Satyendra Narayan Singh &amp; Anr vs State Of Bihar &amp; Ors on 5 May, 1987 Equivalent citations: 1987 AIR 1390, 1987 SCR (3) 224 Author: S Mukharji Bench: Mukharji, Sabyasachi (J) PETITIONER: RAJA SATYENDRA NARAYAN SINGH &amp; ANR. Vs. RESPONDENT: STATE OF BIHAR &amp; ORS. DATE OF JUDGMENT05\/05\/1987 BENCH: MUKHARJI, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-supreme-court-of-india"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Raja Satyendra Narayan Singh &amp; Anr vs State Of Bihar &amp; Ors on 5 May, 1987 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/raja-satyendra-narayan-singh-anr-vs-state-of-bihar-ors-on-5-may-1987\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Raja Satyendra Narayan Singh &amp; 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