Shares of Monnet Ispat and JSW Ispat declined after the Supreme Court cancels mining leases granted to Monnet Ispat, JSW Ispat, Jharkhand Ispat, Prakash Ispat, Adhunik Alloys and Abhijeet Infrastructure saying that the government can reserve mines for state-owned firms.

The companies had challenged an order of Jharkhand High Court that cancelled the allotment of iron ore mines in Ghatkuri Hills to them.

In 1969, the government had reserved ~2,590 hectares of Ghatkuri Hills, Jharkhand’s second-largest iron ore repository, for state-owned steel manufacturers. The state government allotted the mines to private players in 2006 and later cancelled the leases.

The companies sought to know whether the Government could reserve mining rights in a particular region for PSUs only and whether leases granted to private companies can be withdrawn by a successive Government.

The Jharkhand High Court had ruled that the state, the owner of all mines and minerals, had the inherent right to reserve areas for use of government-owned companies.

Shares of Monnet Ispat closed at Rs.327.50, down 15.1% over the previous close. It had touched a day’s high of Rs.389.70 and a day’s low of Rs.308.70. The total traded quantity of the shares stood at 5.95 lakh shares on the BSE.

After falling to Rs.9.85, shares of JSW Ispat recovered to end at Rs.10.43, up ~2% over the previous close. It had touched a day’s high of Rs.11.22. The total traded quantity of the shares stood at 40.48 lakh shares on the BSE.