2 days ago
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The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court connected Monday ordered announcement to the State authorities connected a nationalist involvement litigation petition that challenged a G.O. dealing with the punishment for amerciable mining/quarrying. The petitioner said the punishment was minimal and contrary to the existing rules.
The tribunal was proceeding a nationalist involvement litigation petition filed by Abdul Kalam Science Farmers People Security Association of Madurai. The Association represented by its president G. Abel Moorthy said the G.O. was issued successful January 2026 pursuant to a practice made by the chromatic quarry, crushers and lorry owners association.
The petitioner said the G.O. was passed with an sick motive to support the radical who were carrying retired the amerciable mining activities and which could beryllium categorised as: mining successful the leasehold country beyond the permitted bounds and mining successful the non-leasehold area.
Instead of punishing the offenders, the G.O. was acting arsenic a 1 clip regularisation scheme. The punishment for the offence arsenic per the existing rules was imprisonment for 5 years oregon good up to ₹5 lakh per hectare oregon both. However, arsenic per the G.O. a minimal good of ₹25/MT was levied, helium said.
The minimal good was besides not being collected successful a due manner. The offenders are fixed leverage to the effect that 20% of the imposed good could beryllium paid archetypal and the remaining 80% could beryllium paid successful six adjacent instalments erstwhile each 2 months, helium said.
The G.O. was contrary to the instrumentality and was liable to beryllium quashed, the petitioner said, adding that the G.O.s cannot override statutes.
A Division Bench of Justices N. Sathish Kumar and M. Jothiraman ordered announcement to the State authorities and posted the substance for proceeding to June 24.
