Reckless allegations against government irritates Madras High Court
Petitioner alleged that there was massive corruption and illegality in the mining of beach sand minerals.
Chennai: The Madras high court has pulled up a 72-year-old man, who claimed himself to be a scientist, for levelling reckless allegations against the state government in the matter of grant of mining license to V. V. Minerals.
Slamming the petitioner G. Victor Rajamanickam, a Ph.D in mining geology, a Division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana said,
“We must express our great anguish and pain at the manner in which Public Interest Litigation (PIL) forum is sought to be utilised by the petitioner herein having a direct interest in the subject matter and the parties concerned. That an educated, qualified expert should do this in a matter is of even greater concern as it is not an uneducated person who has approached the jurisdiction of this court”.
The bench said the petitioner had filed the PIL in respect of the alleged illegal beach sand mining in the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu by S. Vaikuntarajan, partner of V V Minerals, Tirunelveli district, and his associates with the support of political leadership and bureaucracy.
The Bench said the petitioner’s counsel sought to make a submission, when the court was inclined to pass order, that he would like to obtain instructions from the petitioner.
“In view of the objection raised by senior counsel for Vaikuntarajan, whether he would like to tender an apology for his conduct and not disclosing the material facts in the petition, rather than facing the order of this court, he (petitioner’s counsel) thus, seeks deferment by two days.” The Bench posted the matter for December 17.
The petitioner alleged that there was massive corruption and illegality in the mining of beach sand minerals. The state machinery was subservient to the mafia involved in the mining. He sought a probe by a special investigation team into the illegal beach sand mining.
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