Winning - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition winning

Definition :

Winning, a mineral means getting or extracting it from the mine, Bihar Mines Ltd. v. Union of India, AIR 1967 SC 887 (892). [Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957, s. 3(d)]

According to the Shorter Oxford Dictionary, 'to win' has the meanings: (i) to get or extract coal or other mineral from the mine, pit or quarry; (ii) to sink shaft or make excavation so as to reach a seam of coal or vein of ore and prepare it for working. The expression 'to win' interpreted in the English cases was in respect of the context of the expression used in certain leases. The expression 'winning' in a constitutional provision like Art. 31A(1)(e) should be given a wider meaning as the Constitution-makers would be using it to cover cases which deal with the obtaining of minerals and in that case wider meaning would be 'to get or extract the mineral from the mine', the expression 'winning' in Article 31A(1)(e) be construed to mean getting or extracting mineral from the mines and other incidental purposes', Gujarat Pottery Works v. B.P. Sood, AIR 1967 SC 964: (1967) 1 SCR 695. [Constitution of India, Art. 31A (1)(e)]

Winning a mineral does not imply a hazardous or perilous activity. The word simply means 'extracting a mineral' and is used generally to indicated any activity by which a mineral is secured, Bhagwan Dass v. State of Uttar Pradesh, AIR 1976 SC 1393: (1976) 3 SCC 784 (789): (1976) 3 SCR 869. [Constitution of India, Art. 31A (1)(e)]