Fake mining software case sensitive: HC

Terming as “sensitive” a case alleging the use of fake scaling software to siphon off minerals worth crores in Punjab, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has sought expert legal assistance in the matter.

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The Division Bench of Justice Arun Palli and Justice Sudeepti Sharma has appointed senior advocate Anupam Gupta as amicus curiae to assist the court.

The direction came as the Bench took up a petition claiming large-scale illegal mining with police connivance and the use of a parallel website to issue fraudulent “weighment” slips leading to an estimated revenue loss of Rs 100 crore.

The matter was brought to the court’s notice by Sukhraj Singh of Mesampur village along the Satluj in Jalandhar district. The petitioner contended that he earned his livelihood through farming. He transported sand from legal mining pits during off-season to supplement his income. But he and his drivers were falsely implicated in an FIR after they were found with “fake weighment slips” issued by a company allegedly using fake software “minesgeologypunjab.in”.

The petitioner alleged that the system was allegedly functioning parallel to the government’s official website, “minesandgeology.punjab.gov.in”, enabling unchecked mineral extraction and evasion of legal scrutiny.

“Huge quantity of minerals, such as, sand, gravel, concrete material was/is being siphoned off, with the aid of fake software website… which raises serious concerns about the sanctity of the weighment process and could have legal and environmental implications,” the petitioner contended. The next hearing will be held on April 2.