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Supreme Court Dismisses Review Pleas on States' Power to  Levy Tax on Minerals In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court of India has dismissed review petitions challenging its earlier judgment, which allowed states to levy taxes on mineral-bearing lands . The judgment also upheld that royalty on extracted minerals is not a tax. The petitions were aimed at revisiting the decision of the nine-judge bench but were rejected by a majority verdict. Background of the Case The core issue in the case revolved around whether state governments have the power to levy taxes on mines and minerals , a matter of critical importance for natural resource management and fiscal federalism . The nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court had ruled in July 2024 that states hold the legislative power to tax mineral rights and that royalty payments made to the government are contractual considerations , not taxes. The decision was appealed by the Central Government , pointing out what it termed as ...