Illegal mining rampant in Punjab, Haryana: High Court

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, August 30

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has asserted that illegal mining was rampant in both Punjab and Haryana. The assertion came as the High Court made it clear that attack on teams by the accused involved in illegal mining could not be overlooked.

HC takes note of Chakki railway bridge damage

• The HC has taken judicial note of the destruction of the railway bridge over Chakki rivulet connecting Pathankot with Joginder Nagar “during the floods again owing to illegal mining as conjointly stated by the parties before the court”
• The Bench of Chief Justice Ravi Shanker Jha and Justice Arun Palli directed the authorities and the “parties” to the litigation to place on record the steps initiated by the state in the matter “especially as regards the site of Chakki Railway Bridge”

Justice Jasjit Singh Bedi of the High Court also made it clear that the concession of anticipatory bail could not be granted to a person allegedly involved in an attack on a mining team. “On being caught, the accused get aggressive and violent. This kind of conduct with public servants cannot be condoned at any cost,” Justice Bedi added.

The assertion comes at a time when both the states have been claiming adoption of stringent measures to check the menace. Turning down the bail plea of a tractor-trailer owner facing the allegations of attempting to run over a mining team, Justice Bedi added the petitioner was duly and specifically named in the FIR.

The allegations were that he interfered with the functioning of the mining department officials after coming to a spot where a tractor-trailer, stopped and searched, was allegedly found containing river sand. Justice Bedi added releasing the petitioner on anticipatory bail at the current stage would even otherwise hamper the investigation, which was required to be taken to the logical conclusion. “Therefore, the custodial interrogation of the petitioner is certainly warranted”.

The petitioner-accused in the case was seeking bail in an FIR registered on April 8 for obstructing a public servant in the discharge of his public functions and other offences under Sections 186, 353 and 34 of the IPC and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act at Naraingarh police station in Ambala district.

Opposing the bail plea, the state counsel had added that the accused did not deserve the concession of anticipatory bail as he was, in fact, a part of the mining mafia. Only recently, an occurrence had taken place at Nuh in Haryana where a DSP had been run over by persons belonging to the mining mafia and similar occurrences had taken place in Punjab as well.