CUTTACK: The Orissa high court has held that statutory authorities cannot “usurp power” not expressly conferred under law, while staying an interim suspension order imposed on a sand quarry lessee in Khurda district.The ruling came while the HC granted interim relief to a petitioner who challenged a show-cause notice issued by the Mining Officer (Minor Mineral), Khurda, over alleged violations of the Odisha Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 2016.“The authority cannot usurp the power to do a thing not provided in the statutory provision nor can it issue any directions without any conferment of power in the statute, the rules and/or regulations applicable in this regard ", a division bench comprising Harish Tandon and M S Raman observed on May 13.The dispute pertains to the Kalyanpur sand quarry on the Kuakhai river under Bhubaneswar tehsil, for which the petitioner had obtained a five-year quarry permit in December 2025.The show-cause notice dated April 24, 2026 cited several alleged defaults by the lessee and asked why suspension or cancellation of the quarry permit should not be ordered. However, the notice also directed immediate suspension of quarrying and transportation activities as an interim measure.Appearing for the petitioner, advocate Sukanta Kumar Dalai argued that the 2016 Rules did not empower authorities to debar or suspend quarry operations pending adjudication of the allegations.Examining sub-rules (15) and (16) of Rule 33 of the Rules, the bench noted that lessees are required to maintain proper accounts of minerals extracted and dispatched, furnish quarterly returns, and provide access to authorities for inspection of records and quarry sites. The Rules also empower officers to issue directions for preventing wasteful extraction and ensuring compliance within a specified period not exceeding 60 days.The court, however, found no statutory provision authorising interim suspension or debarment of quarry operations. Additional Government Advocate Sanjib Kumar Swain sought time to obtain instructions from the state government.However, holding that a prima facie case had been made out, the court stayed the operation of the portion of the show-cause notice imposing interim suspension of quarrying and transportation activities until the next date of hearing.The matter has been listed for further hearing on July 14, 2026.