REPORTABLE

IN THE
SUPREME
COURT OF
INDIAORIGINA
L
JURISDICTIO
N
WRIT
PETITION
(CRL.) NO.
120 OF 2012
Manohar Lal S
harma Pet
itionerVs.The P
rincipal Secreta
ry & Ors.
Respondents
WITHWRIT
PETITION [C]
NO. 463 OF
2012WRIT
PETITION [C]
NO. 515 OF
2012WRIT
PETITION [C]
NO. 283 OF
2013JUDGME
NTR.M.
LODHA, CJI.
Coal is king
and paramount
Lord of industry
is an oldsaying
in the
industrial world.
Industrial
greatness has
been built upon
coal by
many countries
. In India, coal
is the
most importanti
ndigenous
energy
resource and
remains the
dominant fuel
forpower gener
ation
and many indu
strial
applications. A
number
ofmajor
industrial
sectors
including iron
and steel
production
depend
2
on coal as a
source of
energy. The
cement
industry is also
a majorcoal
user. Coals
potential as a
feedstock for
producing
liquidtransport
fuels is huge in
India. Coal can
help significant
economicgrowt
h. Indias
energy future
and prosperity
are integrally
dependantupon
mining and
using its most
abundant,
affordable and
dependantener
gy supply
which is coal.
Coal is
extremely
important
elementin the
industrial life of
developing
India. In power,
iron and steel,
coalis used as
an input and in
cement, coal is
used both as
fuel and
aninput. It is no
exaggeration
that coal is
regarded by
many as
theblack
diamond.2. Bei
ng such a signif
icant, valuable
and importantn
atural resource,
the allocation of
coal blocks for
the period 1993
to2010 is the
subject matter
of this group of
writ petitions
filed in
thenature of
Public Interest
Litigation,
principally one
by Manohar
LalSharma and
the other by the
Common
Cause. The
allocation
ofcoal blocks
made during
the above
period by the
CentralGovern
ment,
according to
petitioners, is
illegal and
unconstitutional
inter alia
on the
following
grounds:(a) No
n-
compliance of t
he mandatory l
egal procedure
under the
Mines and
Minerals
(Development
and
Regulation)
Act,1957 (for
short, 1957
Act).
3
(b) Breach of S
ection 3(3)(a)(iii
)
of the Coal Min
es(Nationalisati
on) Act, 1973
(for short,
CMN
Act).(c) Violati
on of the princi
ple of Trustees
hip of naturalre
sources by
gifting away
precious
resources
as largesse.(d)
Arbitrariness, l
ack of transpar
ency, lack of o
bjectivityand
non-application
of mind;
and(e) Allotme
nt tainted with
mala fides
and corruption
andmade in
favour of
ineligible
companies
tainted with
mala fides
and