Illegal mining has degraded entire environmental setup: High Court

Saurabh Malik

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Chandigarh, July 30

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that the entire environmental setup has degraded, causing serious danger to the existential system due to illegal mining. The assertion came as the High Court made it further clear that the custodial interrogation of an accused in an illegal mining case was required to unearth the truth.

The assertion by Justice Harnaresh Singh Gill came on a petition filed against the state by an accused seeking anticipatory bail in a case registered on May 12 at Nangal police station in Ropar district under the provisions of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act.

Appearing before Justice Gill’s Bench, the counsel for the petitioner submitted that the accused had been falsely implicated in the present case. He was not the owner of the crusher. Rather, it was owned by another person. The petitioner was earlier working in the crusher, now lying closed.

The counsel added the petitioner was not found at the spot at the time of the alleged raid and no recovery was made from him. The counsel further submitted it was impossible that the petitioner could have “done such an act”.

Referring to the provisions of the Act, the counsel further contended there was no provision for lodging an FIR. Only a complaint could be filed and that too by a mining officer.

Opposing the prayer, the state counsel contended the land and machinery was taken on rent by the petitioner. Besides this, there was no bar on lodging an FIR in an illegal mining case as per the latest law laid down by the SC in the case of “Jayant vs State of MP.”

After hearing counsel for the parties and going through the documents, Justice Gill asserted the mere fact that the petitioner had taken the land on rent did not give him the licence to carry out mining on it. “One cannot lose sight of the fact that because of the illegal mining, the entire environmental set-up has degraded causing serious danger to the existential system.”

Dismissing the plea after holding that no ground was made out to grant the concession of anticipatory bail, Justice Gill added the illegal acts of the petitioner had caused damage to river overbridge as the sand in around or from beneath the pillars was being extracted.