HYDERABAD: Justice EV Venugopal of the Telangana High Court has directed the police to strictly adhere to Government Orders before confiscating vehicles or machinery involved in the illegal mining and transportation of sand.
Justice Venugopal was hearing a petition related to the seizure of a tractor by the Nagarkurnool police, allegedly in violation of government guidelines. Referring to GO 15 issued by the Industries and Commerce (Mines) department on February 19 this year, the court clarified that vehicles involved in illegal sand mining and transport should be penalised, not confiscated, if caught for the first or second time.
According to the GO, a penalty of Rs 5,000 is applicable for a first-time offence, and Rs 15,000 for a second offence. The order also specifies different penalties for other types of vehicles. However, the police confiscated a tractor for its first-time violation. M Rameshwar Rao, counsel for the tractor owner, informed the court that despite paying the Rs 5,000 penalty, the police refused to return the vehicle.