The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court recently stayed the operation of a Government Resolution (GR) of January 3 this year through which the state government was empowered to cancel all punitive proceedings initiated by the revenue department related to illegal excavation of minor minerals carried out by contractors engaged in construction or execution work of Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway. The court was hearing a plea by a firm which owns and possesses nearly 1,000 acres of land situated in Wardha district, a portion of which was acquired by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for construction of four-lane national highway and by state government for construction of Samruddhi Expressway. The company claimed that the contractor engaged in construction work illegally trespassed into the land owned by the petitioner and excavated soil/murrum from more than 100 acres of land and the proceedings against the contractor cannot be cancelled. The bench observed that an "exceptional prima facie case was made out" and stayed the GR. A division bench of Justices Rohit B Deo and Anil L Pansare on July 26 was hearing a plea by Cozy Properties Private Limited, a land and buildings developer, through advocate Firdos Mirza. The petitioner submitted that Afcons Infrastructures Limited (contractor) participated in the open tender process for construction of Samruddhi Mahamarg. It was allotted “Engineering, Procurement and Construction” work - EPC Mode Package-2 from chainage of 31 kilometres to 89.413 kilometres, a section between Village Khadki Amgao to Village Pimpalgaon. The contractor appointed one Ashish Daftari as the subcontractor to execute part of the contractual work. Mirza claimed that the contractor and sub-contractor illegally trespassed into 100-acre land owned by the petitioner and excavated soil, after which a complaint was lodged on July 30, 2019 with Seloo police station. On the basis of the complaint, an FIR was registered on August 22, 2019 under sections 379, 447, 427 and 120B of the IPC against the contractor and sub-contractor. However, as the FIR was registered only against the Project Manager of contractor and Daftari, the petitioner moved a writ plea in HC and sought transfer of probe to CBI. The HC asked local crime branch of Wardha district to probe the matter and subsequently a chargesheet was filed. Meanwhile, the tehsildar, Seloo, initiated action against the contractor in respect of illegal excavation of minor minerals and imposed a fine of Rs 226.89 crore and also directed the contractor to pay a royalty of Rs 238.99 crore under Maharashtra Land Revenue Code. The aggrieved contractor filed a writ petition in the HC challenging imposition of penalty. The HC granted interim relief to the petitioner on January 21, 2020. The petitioner stated that apart from penalty, the tehsildar also issued show cause notice to contractor as to why action cannot be taken against him, which he challenged in the HC through the petition in which the contractor had availed interim relief. Moreover, the forest department had registered offences under provisions of Forest Act, 1927, an action which the contractor challenged through a plea, which is pending before HC. Mirza said that after the GR was issued, taking advantage of the same, the contractor filed an additional affidavit in his pending pleas and sought quashing of actions initiated against him. The petitioner contended that GR is contrary to Land Revenue code and is actuated by mala fide intentions to benefit and bail out certain business tycoons on whom the revenue officers have imposed substantial penalties. Therefore, the GR is arbitrary. "Prima facie, we find formidable substance in the submission by Mirza," the bench said and stayed the effect and operation of the GR. The Court issued notice to respondents and posted further hearing to August 23.
