Delhi HC rejects Ispat Industries' petition

The Delhi High Court today dismissed the petition of Ispat Industries challenging the Maharashtra government's decision to lease 400 hectares of iron ore mine to rival company Lloyds Metal.

A Division Bench comprising Justice A P Shah and Justice S Muralidhar dismissed the petition filed by Ispat which is promoted by steel czar L N Mittal's younger brother Vinod Mittal.

In its petition, Ispat had also requested the Division Bench to stay the order of the single-judge Bench of the court which had on November 4 refused to entertain its prayer seeking annulment of the validity of a Letter of Intent (LoI) issued by Maharashtra government to Lloyds Metal in January 1995.

"The High Court (single-judge bench) failed to appreciate that revival of the original LoI could not enable the state to bifurcate the LoI of 1995 in favour of Lloyds Metal assuming it to be valid," said Ispat in its petition.

Ispat had contended that as Lloyds Metal's plea to transfer the LoI to one of its subsidiaries Gadchiroli Mineral and Metals (GMML) was rejected by authorities, the LoI issued should be cancelled.

Earlier, the state government had transferred the LoI to GMML but it was challenged by another rival Jayaswal Neco before the revisionary authority which held that the transfer of LoI was illegal and set it aside.

However, the court did not agree with the Ispat Industries' submission. It also did not agree with its contention that Lloyds Metal had committed a breach of the terms and conditions of the license and the provisions of the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960.