MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Tuesday directed registry of the court to list petitions seeking release of vehicles involved in illegal mining cases before division bench for providing clarification.
A special bench comprising Justices MM Sundresh and N Sathish Kumar observed that on October 29, 2018, they passed a detailed order that request for release of vehicles involved in illegal sand mining cases could be made only before designated courts. But petitions seeking the above relief are being filed in High Court and orders are being passed ignoring the division bench's order, the judges said.
Neither the division bench order was taken to the notice of a single judge nor the government filed any appeal against orders passed for releasing the vehicles, the judges said.
"Imposition of cost can never be a substitute when it comes to environment and life source. Water is a life source," the judges opined.
Even numbering and entertaining such petitions would be contradictory to the division bench order, they further held and directed the registry to post all matters seeking release of vehicles involved in illegal mining cases to the division bench so that the 2018 order could be clarified and reiterated.
The bench gave the direction while hearing a PIL filed by one Kaleeswaran of Madurai seeking action against two police personnel of Subramaniyapuram police station in an illegal sand mining case.