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Samaj Parivartana Samudaya & Ors. vs State of Karnataka & Ors.

Not available · 2024 INSC 267Decided 14 Mar 2024
Not available
Justice Sanjiv Khanna · Justice M.M. Sundresh · Justice Bela M. Trivedi

Background

This is a long-running public interest litigation, originally filed in 2009, concerning large-scale illegal iron-ore mining in Bellary, Chitradurga and Tumkur districts of Karnataka and the resulting environmental degradation. Over more than a decade, the Supreme Court has passed a series of orders, constituting a Central Empowered Committee (CEC) and a Joint Team, banning mining temporarily, categorising mining leases (A/B/C) by severity of violations, and fixing district-level production ceilings that have been periodically revised (most recently 35 million metric tonnes for Bellary and 15 MMT for Tumkur/Chitradurga).

Decision Breakdown

In this March 2024 order, the Court dealt with a batch of pending applications in the matter. It directed a fresh survey/demarcation of certain mining leases using the total station method and satellite imagery, to be carried out jointly with NIT Karnataka within six months, followed by the CEC issuing notices and passing orders based on that survey. It disposed of, or dismissed in default (where no one appeared to press them), numerous long-pending interlocutory applications, while directing a few others to be responded to within six weeks. It also dismissed a separate writ petition (W.P.(C) No. 505 of 2020) on the ground that the mining lease period in question had already expired, while leaving the petitioner free to challenge any fresh auction. The remaining applications were directed to be re-listed on a future date.

Lesson Learnt

Environmental litigation of this scale is managed through continuous, incremental judicial oversight (via expert committees and periodic orders) rather than a single final verdict, and applicants who fail to pursue their interlocutory applications risk having them dismissed in default.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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