High Court issues 9 commandments to Mining Dept of Haryana over checks

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, October 9

Rapping Haryana for depriving a person of his livelihood following the seizure of his commercial vehicle and subsequent haughtiness of mining department officials, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued nine commandments, including the carrying out of transparent and well-documented inspections by the mining officers.

Directions were also issued to take into account potential humanitarian consequences of vehicle seizures and consider the issue of livelihood of the owner and his family, especially if the vehicle was the primary source of income.

The admonition came in a case where the vehicle was seized without a formal complaint or an FIR. Justice Arun Monga stated the guidelines were to ensure fairness and adherence to legal procedures in mining-related penalty imposition and vehicle seizures matters, while taking into consideration humanitarian aspects.

The petitioner’s plea was that he and his family were at the verge of starvation due to lack of earning after being paralysed by mining officer’s action of seizing his commercial vehicle, followed by inaction of the Director, Mines.

Justice Monga stated that it was unfathomable how the appellate authority was sitting over the appeal. “The petitioner has been driven to the wall and made to suffer for almost one year, being deprived of his livelihood due to the seizure of his vehicle and subsequent high-headedness of the officials of the department.”

The petitioner appended proof that representation/ appeal was emailed and sent by Speed Post to the Director. The respondents have dealt with it during the pendency of proceedings. Yet, they chose to overlook it. The department’s defence that they never received such an appeal appeared to be “complete moonshine”.

Issuing the guidelines, Justice Monga directed the mining officers to conduct surprise checks as per established procedures and state the specific violations alleged. Detailed documentation of inspection findings was mandated, covering the condition of the vehicle, quantity of minerals, and observed violations.

Consider humanitarian aspects, too

Guidelines are aimed to ensure transparency, fairness and adherence to legal procedures in mining-related penalty imposition and vehicle seizures, while also taking into consideration the humanitarian aspects and the livelihood of affected individuals and families. Justice Arun Monga