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Illegal sand mining a ‘serious issue’, Karnataka HC calls for probe

The Karnataka High Court issued notice to the state government and directed it to file a response within three weeks.

2 min readBengaluruJan 31, 2026 04:51 PM IST

Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara had made a statement in the Assembly about many influential people from across political parties being involved in illegal sand mining. (File Photo/Representational)

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday initiated suo motu proceedings concerning the alleged illegal sand mining being carried out in rivers across the state. Stating that it was a “serious issue”, the court said that it requires a court-monitored investigation by a central agency or a specially constituted investigating agency or a Special Investigation Team.

A division bench of Justice D K Singh and Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju took cognisance of media reports published on January 28, and said, “If the home minister of the state feels helpless in taking action to curb the illegal sand mining by mafias, there cannot be any hope that the said illegal activity of sand mining in the state can be curbed by the state machinery.”

Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara had made a statement in the Assembly about many influential people from across political parties being involved in illegal sand mining.

The court noted in its order that media reports mention that bids have been called for extracting sand, but bids have not been opened yet. “Many big sharks are involved in this big money-spinning racket who do not want the extraction legalised,” the court said.

The court mentioned reports of sand being mined from the Krishna River basin at night, farmers complaining of dust settling on crops, etc. It also mentioned reports of a woman MLA from Raichur district (Karemma G Nayak) who complained about a threat to her life from the sand mafia for raising the issue of illegal sand mining in her area.

The court issued notice to the state government and directed it to file a response within three weeks. It also directed the registry to register the suo motu petition and post it before Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru for it to be assigned for hearing before the appropriate bench.