Fake mining software issue sensitive: HC

Punjab: Terming as “sensitive” the case alleging the use of fake scaling software to siphon off minerals worth crores of rupees in Punjab, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has sought expert legal assistance in the matter. A division bench of Justices Arun Palli and Sudipti Sharma appointed senior advocate Anupam Gupta as amicus curiae to assist the court. The direction came when the bench was hearing a plea that claimed large-scale illegal mining in connivance with the police and issuance of fake “weighing” slips using a parallel website, leading to an estimated revenue loss of Rs 100 crore. The matter was brought to the notice of the court by Sukhraj Singh of Mesampur village on the banks of the Sutlej in Jalandhar district.
The petitioner argued that he runs his livelihood by farming. He transports sand from legal mining pits during off-season to supplement his income. But he and his drivers were falsely implicated in an FIR after they were found with “fake weighing slips” issued by a company that was allegedly using a fake software “minesgeologypunjab.in”. The petitioner alleged that the system was allegedly working parallel to the government’s official website “minesandgeology.punjab.gov.in”, facilitating unregulated mineral extraction and evading legal scrutiny. “Huge quantities of minerals like sand, gravel, concrete material were being extracted with the aid of the fake software website… which raises serious concerns about the sanctity of the weighing process and may have legal and environmental implications,” the petitioner argued. The next hearing will be on April 2.