The Karnataka High Court has quashed a INR4.827bn (US$54.4m) penalty imposed on ACC Ltd over limestone mining operations in Kalaburagi district, Karnataka.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice KS Hemaleka also directed the state Department of Mines and Geology to restore ACC’s full access to the Integrated Lease Management System (ILMS) portal.
In its judgment, delivered on 8 September 2026, the court ordered the state to execute a supplementary lease deed extending ACC’s mining rights without requiring a no-dues certificate. It also directed the authorities to refund amounts deposited by ACC under earlier interim court orders.
The dispute concerned royalty calculations for limestone extracted from ACC’s captive mining lease. The state had applied a fixed limestone-to-clinker ratio of 1:1.42 to estimate production and assess the amount due.
ACC, part of the Adani Group, argued that royalty liabilities should instead be calculated using actual weighment and production records.
The court found that the state had failed to establish sufficient grounds for replacing ACC’s recorded extraction data with a notional limestone-to-clinker ratio.
ACC’s limestone and shale mining lease in Karnataka had previously been renewed up to 18 February 2023.
