The Chhattisgarh high court has granted interim relief to petitioners who are the owners of land wherein the Jindal Steel & Power Limited (JSPL) was excavating the coal "without" having secured the permission from the land owners.
A single bench of Justice S K Agnihotri stayed the mining activities carried out by the JSPL over the land in dispute till the next hearing.
The HC cited the earlier decision of the Supreme Court where the latter held that ‘the right to excavate the mines from the land of private owner is based on the agreement; unless the lessor gives his consent, no lessee has a right to enter upon his land and carry on mining operation'.
“Prima facie, it appears that the balance of convenience is in favour of the petitioners and if the interim relief is not granted the petitioners may suffer irreparable losses”, the court stated.
The JSPL official here told HT that the land was acquired by the state government and allotted to them for mining after diligently following all prescribed rules and processes.