JUDGMENT : S.MANIKUMAR, J. Being aggrieved by the judgment dated 10.1.2020 in Writ Petition No.234 of 2020, appellants/writ petitioners have filed instant writ appeal. Challenge raised in the writ petition is that seizure and detention of vehicles and earth remover for the alleged extraction and transportation of ordinary earth unauthorizedly from the property of one Mohammed Faris, Marekkara comprised in R.S.No.S.80/1C-2.2, is illegal. 2. Learned Single Judge, after considering the rival submissions, dismissed the writ petition, relevant portion of which reads thus: “2. The learned Government Pleader points out that by virtue of Rule 14 (1) and (2) of the amended proviso the owner WP(C).No.234 OF 2020(D) 3 of the land shall obtain minerals transit passes for the quantity to be transported. The petitioners ought not to have accepted the contract for transporting of the earth, as the owner did not have the transit passes and the petitioner has an alternate remedy under Rule 27 of Kerala Minerals (Prevention of illegal Mining, Storage and Transportation) Rules, 2015. 3. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties. It would be difficult of things to extract Rule 14 (1) and (2) along with the amended proviso: “[provided that in cases where transportation of ordinary earth is required, the owner of the land shall obtain minerals transit passes for the quantity to be transported under the Kerala Minerals (Prevention of illegal Mining, Storage and Transportation) Rules, 2015 after making payment of royalty, on an application submitted in this regard. Such application shall be accompanied by (1) valid building permit for construction of building obtained from the Local Self Government authorities concerned, (2) land development permit obtained from the Local Self Government authorities concerned in cases where the leveling of the land and extraction of ordinary earth is involved and (3) possession and enjoyment certificate of the land issued by the Village Officer concerned: Provided further that in cases where leveling of land and extraction of ordinary earth is involved, the building permit shall be accompanied by an approved building plan obtained from the Local Self Government authorities concerned which shall contain the area of land to be developed for the construction of the building and the quantity of ordinary earth to be extracted for such construction].” On plain and simple reading of the aforementioned provisions, it is discernible that whenever the transportation of ordinary earth, it is mandatory for the owner to obtain transit passes for the quantity to transported under Kerala Minerals (Prevention of illegal Mining, Storage and Transportation) Rules, 2015. The petitioners have not ascertained whether the owner had taken the transportation of ordinary earth after obtaining mineral transit passes. The contention of the counsel for the petitioners regarding the applicability of sub Rule 2 of Rule 14 is only with regard to the quarrying permit and not for the transportation. Both the expressions are totally different context in a plain and ordinary language. Therefore, I do not interfere in this matter under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. Accordingly, this writ petition stands dismissed.” 3. Learned counsel for the appellants submitted that since the owner of the property has obtained Ext.P6 building permit, valid upto 14.10.2021, for construction of a residential building having an extent of 184.08 sq.mtrs., no permit is required for extraction of ordinary earth as provided under Rule 14 of the Kerala Minor Mineral Concession Rules and therefore, the seizure and custody of earth remover is without any authority of law. 4. 4. Further contention raised in the writ petition is that, as per Rules 26 and 27 of the Kerala Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Storage and Transportation) Rules, under which transit passes are issued in Form O(A) and O(B) makes it very clear that such transit passes are required only in cases where permit is required for extraction of ordinary earth and not in cases where no permit is required as is provided under sub-rule (2) or Rule 14 of the Kerala Minor Mineral Concessions Rules. 5. It is also contended that, in so far as seizure and custody of tipper lorries are concerned, as it is evident from Ext.P7 mahazar, the vehicles were seized from the spot where the construction of the residential building was going on and that the vehicles were never in transit, so as to attract the violation of Rules 25 and 26 of the Kerala Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Storage and Transportation) Rules. Contention has also been raised that the vehicles and JCB were seized not in transit of ordinary earth, as is evident from Ext.P7 mahazar. Moreover, the vehicles were seized and taken into custody when they were kept in the premises of the building site. According to the appellants, it is only an attempt to commit the offence for which no seizure and detention of the vehicles can be made. On the above, the learned counsel for the appellants seeks for a direction from this court that the seizure and custody of vehicles as per Exts.P7 and P8 proceedings are to be declared as illegal and that the vehicles and earth remover to be released to the appellants, without any further delay. 6. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the materials available on record. 7. Rules 26 and 27 of the Kerala Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Storage and Transportation) Rules relied on by the appellant are extracted hereunder: “26. Restrictions on the grant of quarrying leases.—Quarrying leases under this chapter shall be granted only to Indian Nationals: Provided that a quarrying lease may be granted by the Government to a person who is not an Indian National with the previous approval of the Central Government. 27. Restrictions on the grant of quarrying leases.—Quarrying leases under this chapter shall be granted only to Indian Nationals: Provided that a quarrying lease may be granted by the Government to a person who is not an Indian National with the previous approval of the Central Government. 27. Application for grant of quarrying lease.—(1) An application for grant or renewal of a quarrying lease shall be made to the competent authority in Form ‘B’; (2) Every such application shall be accompanied by,— (a) income-tax clearance certificate from the income-tax officer concerned; (b) copy of the survey map of the area attested by an officer not below the rank of a Tahsildar of the department of Land Revenue or Assistant Director of the department of Survey and Land Records. The area applied for extraction in each survey number shall be demarcated and coloured red in the map; (c) possession and enjoyment certificate issued by the Village Officer concerned in respect of the land from which the minerals are proposed to be extracted and removed; (d) No Objection Certificate, in the case of revenue puramboke lands or lands owned by Local Self Government or forest lands, from the District Collector or Secretary of the Local Self Government Institution or Divisional Forest Officer, as the case may be, to the effect that they have no objection for the extraction of minor mineral by the applicant subject to the provisions contained in these rules; (e) certificate of demarcation of the boundaries of areas applied for, issued by an officer of the department of Land Revenue not below the rank of Village Officer who has jurisdiction over the relevant area; 15 (f) certificate from the Village Officer concerned to the effect that the land applied for quarrying lease is not assigned for any special purpose by the department of Land Revenue; (g) notarised consent letter from the owner of the land applied for quarrying lease to the effect that he has no objection to the extraction of the minor mineral by the applicant, if the land is not in the possession of the applicant.” 8. Appellants are the owners of the vehicles and earth remover (JCB) seized for transportation of earth and not the owner who has obtained building permit. 9. Appellants are the owners of the vehicles and earth remover (JCB) seized for transportation of earth and not the owner who has obtained building permit. 9. Rule 11 of the Kerala Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Storage and Transportation) Rules, 2015 deals with 'mineral transit passes for a permit holder', which reads as under: “11. Mineral transit passes for a permit holder.—On an application by a permit holder, the competent authority may issue a fixed number of Mineral transit passes under rule 26 of the Kerala Minerals (Prevention of illegal mining, storage and transportation) Rules, 2015, as stipulated in item A or B of Schedule IV, in the case of payment of royalty under Consolidated Royalty Payment System or as fixed by the competent authority concerned in the case of payment of royalty at the rates specified in schedule I: Provided that in the case of payment of royalty under Consolidated Royalty Payment System, on depletion of mineral transit passes during the period of permit, the permit holder is eligible for obtaining additional Mineral Transit Passes at the rates stipulated in item A or B of Schedule IV.” 10. Rule 14 of the Kerala Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Storage and Transportation) Rules, 2015 deals with 'quarrying permit for ordinary earth', which reads as under: “14. Quarrying Permit for Ordinary earth.—(1) A quarrying permit under these rules shall be obtained for extraction of ordinary earth used for filling or levelling purposes in construction of embankments, roads, railways or buildings in Form N. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rule (1), no quarrying permit is required under these rules for extraction of ordinary earth in connection with the construction of residential buildings including flats or commercial buildings having a plinth area of 300 square metres if the owner of the land obtained a prior valid permit for construction of such building from the Local Self Government authorities concerned: Provided that in cases where transportation of ordinary earth is required, the owner shall pay royalty for the quantity to be transported and shall obtain mineral transit passes under the Kerala State Minerals (Prevention of illegal mining, storage and transportation) Rules, 2015 from the competent authority: Provided further that the competent authority shall not issue mineral transit passes for removal of ordinary earth exceeding the quantity needed to be extracted, as ascertained by it through a site inspection.” 11. No material has been placed before this court as to whether the owner has paid the royalty for the quantity to be transported and obtained Mineral Transit Passes under the Kerala Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Storage and Transportation) Rules, 2015 from the competent authority. 12. Reliance on Rules 26 and 27 of the Kerala Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Storage and Transportation) Rules, 2015 is misplaced. Instant case pertains to transportation and not quarrying. Writ court has properly analyzed the facts and rightly dismissed the writ petition. There are no valid grounds to interfere with the judgment. Writ appeal is dismissed. All pending interlocutory applications shall stand closed.