New Delhi [India], July 25 (ANI): A nine-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday held that states have the constitutional authority to levy taxes on mines and mineral-bearing lands. The 8:1 majority judgement, authored by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and agreed to by Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Abhay S Oka, JB Pardiwala, Manoj Misra, Ujjal Bhuyan, Satish Chandra Sharma and Augustine George Masih, also ruled that royalty payable on extracted minerals is not a tax. CJI Chandrachud, along with seven other judges, delivered a majority judgement, while Justice BV Nagarathna delivered…