JSW Steel on Wednesday withdrew its petition seeking direction to the Karnataka government for allotting captive iron ore mines for its steel plant in the state after the Supreme Court refused to entertain its plea.
A bench comprising Justices V S Sirpurkar and T S Thakur declined to entertain the plea of JSW Steel to direct the Karnataka government to lease a captive mine for steel plant at Vijaynagar in the State.
“We cannot enlarge the scope of the petition and direct some one to surrender its lease or give lease to some one,” the bench said.
However, it gave liberty to the company to approach the Karnataka High Court if it feels that the State government has not fulfilled obligation under the MoU signed by it in 1994.
The apex court was also not convinced by the submission of the company that it made an investment of Rs 10,000 crore by setting a steel plant on the assurances of the State government that a captive mine would be alloted to it.
“You (JSW) are not an unknown villager, who would invest such a large sum on promises only,” the bench said.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi appearing for JSW Steel submitted that while signing MoU with the State in 1994, it was assured that it would be allotted a captive mine in the State after National Mineral Development Corporation surrender some of the mines in the State.
“From 1994 to 2011, 17 years has gone by, but we have not been given any mines. Even the small producers in the State have been allotted captive mines,” he said adding that JSW Steel is forced to buy iron ore from others and transport miles and it is hampering its growth.
However, Karnataka’s counsel Anita Shenoy opposed it and said that the State government has done its level best to get JSW alloted the mines. She further submitted that iron ore was a major mineral and all such allotment is to be done by the central government only.
“In the last 10 years, the State government recommended three times. The Karnataka government has done its level best to get them mines allotted,” she said, adding that JSW was making incorrect statement in the court and the State government has completed its obligation as per MoU entered in 1994.
