Gujarat High Court dismisses PIL alleging violations of mining rules in Gir: ‘not supposed to issue legal notice

Yagnik, further arguing before the court of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi, submitted that the violations have resulted in the death of four persons in a span of six years, including the death of two school-going sisters in 2021.

It was also highlighted that there is no fencing around the mining area and the area falls in the migratory route of Gir lions. The mine in question is allotted to Ambuja Cements with a major mining license for mining limestone.

Upon a query from the Court if the aggrieved parties had approached the authorities concerned with their grievance before approaching the Court, Yagnik stated that a legal notice was sent to the district collector and others on March 31, running into 231 pages.

To this, CJ Agarwal remarked that the parties were expected to send a representation and not a legal notice through an advocate, adding, “You were not supposed to issue legal notice, there is no legal relationship between you and the collector. Collector is not supposed to answer to this kind of legal notice.”

The Court, while dismissing the PIL, recorded in its order, “We may note that this type of petition prepared by the advocate based on the legal notice given to the collector, that too given by the advocate, cannot be entertained in the nature of PIL… In case of any grievance of the petitioners, they are required to approach the collector and the competent forest authority by moving a proper representation stating the categorical issues pertaining to the damage to the environment and threat to the wildlife.”