CHENNAI | Aug 13, 2015: In a second setback to two mining companies in 24 hours, the Madras high court on Wednesday stayed a single judge's order replacing a senior IAS officer with a former judge as head of a committee probing alleged irregularities in beach sand mining. The court had on Tuesday quashed as many as 32 orders passed by another judge last year that allowed the two companies - V V Mineral and Transworld Garnet India Pvt Ltd - to continue mining despite the Centre cancelling their licences.
The inquiry committee headed by IAS officer Gagandeep Singh Bedi was formed in September 2013 to probe allegations of illegal mining of rare earth minerals such as garnet, zircon, rutile and monazite worth several thousands of crores of rupees in Tuticorin, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts. The committee ordered stoppage of mining operations to facilitate inspection. Assailing it, the companies moved the high court.
On July 29, 2015, Justice T Raja quashed two government orders in this regard and replaced Bedi with former HC judge Vinod Kumar Sharma as inquiry committee head. The judge accepted the companies' claim that Bedi was likely to be biased and prejudiced against them as they had been lodging complaints against him before the National Human Rights Commission and other forums since 2002-03.
On Wednesday, the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice T S Sivagnanam stayed the operation of the order after Tamil Nadu advocate general A L Somayaji argued that change of officer would affect the ongoing inquiry and delay the report.
In its appeal, the state government said Bedi headed a 230-member committee of government officials drawn from revenue, geology and mining, and environment departments, and hence he alone could not do anything. Therefore, the plea of bias is totally unsustainable, the appeal filed by the state industries secretary said, adding, "In any event, the ultimate decision to take action on the report vests with the government."
Justice Raja had accepted the companies' claim of bias by Bedi on three grounds: One, they had lodged an NHRC complaint against him in 202-03; two, their vehicles were seized while he was Kanyakumari district collector; and three, he did not afford them personal hearing despite a division bench order.
Refuting the allegation, the government said the bench had left it to the sole discretion of the inspection committee to grant hearing. So, the parties cannot ask for personal hearing as a matter of right. Also, for an incident that occurred more than a decade ago, the companies cannot level allegations now, it said, referring to the NHRC complaint against Bedi.
It was also pointed out that the companies never raised the issue of bias when they submitted their representations to the Bedi committee in December 2013, when they in fact wanted early completion of the probe. Mining works were ordered to be stopped as without that it would not have been impossible for the committee to probe the allegations, it said, adding that the committee had the power to order stoppage of mining.
Apprehending that the company might restart mining operations, the government wanted the bench to stay the operation of the July 29 order. The first bench acceded to the plea, and posted the matter to October 1 for further hearing.
It was the same bench that on Tuesday set aside the 32 verdicts of Justice C S Karnan, who last year quashed the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) orders canceling the mining licences of the two companies. The judge had passed the orders without hearing the Centre and even before the IBM could file its counter-affidavits. The first bench set aside all the orders saying they were bereft of any reason and unsustainable in law.
(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/)