TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2018 (4) TMI 423
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....illicit, ir discriminate and haphazard sand mining led to deepening of the riverbeds, widening of the rivers, damage to civil structures, depletion of ground water table, degradation of ground water quality, damages to the river system and reduction of biodiversity. All that is, nothing but interruption into nature's course. To say, now-a-days, sand - a kind of mineral has become a rare commodity because of mindless quarrying and policies, thereby continuing to degrade the environment, effecting the agricultural activities and also in the process resulting in scaling up the price and now, we are in the days to import sand/river sand from abroad like other commodities. 2. Here is a case, wherein the petitioner - Managing Director of a Private Limited Company, doing business in import and export, claims to have imported river sand from abroad and failing in his attempt to transport the same to his customers within the State of Tamil Nadu, invokes the jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seeking a writ of Mandamus, to forbear the respondents herein from insisting for licence, permit, transport slip, etc., under the Tamil Nadu Minor Mineral ....
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....rder, 2003. 2505 1020 Quartz sands Free Subject to Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) Order, 2003. 2505 90 00 Other Free Subject to Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) Order, 2003. 4.2. In the light of the same, the petitioner company decided to import natural sand from foreign countries, especially, from Malaysia, as it is fit for construction purposes. Accordingly, the petitioner entered into an agreement of sale and purchase of sand from Malaysia with M/s.All Works Trading Private Limited, Singapore, on 09.09.2017, as per which, the seller agreed to supply 1,00,000 MT of river sand from Sungai Pahang River, Kuantan City, Malaysia to the petitioner at Tuticorin Port. 4.3. After obtaining the Certificate of Plant Quarantine from Government of Malaysia, the seller dispatched the first shipment of 55,443.84 MT of river sand from Pekan Anchorage, Malaysia to Tuticorin, through Vessel Anna Dorothea. It reached Tuticorin Port on 14.10.2017 through indian waters by obtaining necessary permission from the Director General of Lighthouses and Lightships, Ministry of Shipping, Government of India. 4.4. On completion of all form....
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....nds without any valid permits. 4.7. Therefore, the petitioner made a representation dated 25.10.2017 to the respondents seeking release of the vehicles. Meanwhile, the Chairman, V.O.Chidambaranar Port Trust, Tuticorin - 628 004, sent a communication to the clearing Agent of the petitioner, viz., M/s.Janaki Traders, stating that the Port shall not permit to transport away the sand until all permissions are obtained. But, the petitioner has not been served with any such communication till date and finding no action, the present writ petition has been filed. 5. On 01.11.2017, when this writ petition came up for admission, this Court, upon hearing the rival submissions and also considering the facts and circumstances of the case, as an interim measure, has passed the following order: "Mr.B.Pugalendhi, learned Additional Advocate General, assisted by Mr.T.S.Mohamed Mohideen, learned Additional Government Pleader takes notice for R1 to R11. Notice to R11, returnable by 06.11.2017. 2. As a matter of policy, the Central Government has taken a decision to permit the import of sand, for which, Central Excise Duty and other taxes are being collected from the Importers. Now, restri....
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....e the State of Tamil Nadu, for the reason that Rule 38 of the Tamil Nadu Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1959, does not deal with the imported sand and hence, the respondents have no jurisdiction to restrain the petitioner from transporting the imported river sand in the State. 7.7. Rule 38-A of the Tamil Nadu Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1959, came to be inserted by G.O.Ms.No.95, Industries, dated 01.10.2003, in and by which, the quarrying of sand be carried out only by the Government and Rule 38-B prohibits transportation of the sand covered under Rule 38-A to the other States. Whereas Rule 38-C imposed a condition that no person shall transport sand without a valid transport permit issued by the Public Works Department or without a sale slip of Licensee duly authenticated by the authorities concerned of the jurisdiction from which the sand is transported. 7.8. The learned Senior Counsel further pointed out that Rules 38-A, 38-B and 38-C cannot be made applicable to the case of the petitioner as the petitioner had imported the river sand from Malaysia and thus, these Rules have no relevance at all and the respondents are not entitled to restrain the petitioner from trans....
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....o prohibit the illegal transportation of sand quarried in the State and in case of imported sand, the State Government is not entitled to have jurisdiction. 7.16. The attention of this Court has also been drawn to Rule 2(xiii) of the Tamil Nadu Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage of Minerals and Mineral Dealers Rules, 2011, which defines 'minerals' as follows: "2(xiii). "Minerals" means all minerals and minor minerals except sand." and submitted that since the sand is excluded, the said Rules cannot be made applicable to the case on hand and hence permits and passes under the state rules cannot be insisted upon. 7.17. The learned Senior Counsel also contended that the provisions of either the Tamil Nadu Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1959 or the Tamil Nadu Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage of Minerals and Mineral Dealers Rules, 2011, are not applicable as to the case of the petitioner for transporting the minerals through the State of Tamil Nadu and he placed reliance on the judgment of this Court in K.P.Enterprises v. District Collector, Salem reported in AIR 2004 MADRAS 151, wherein, this Court, held that the provis....
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....s well as Mr.B.Pugalenthi, learned Additional Advocate General assisted by Mr.T.S.Mohamed Mohideen, learned Additional Government Pleader appearing for the respondents 1 to 11, refuted the contentions of the petitioner, the crux of which, could be stated thus: 8.1. The State Government is having the absolute right to insist for licence for transportation and for storage of the river sand imported by the petitioner from abroad. 8.2. As per the notification issued by the Government of India, the mineral imported by the petitioner comes under the Item Description 'Other' having the Exim Code - 2505 10 19, viz., Silica sand. 8.3. The import policy of natural sand will be subject to Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) Order, 2003, wherein, it is clearly stated that the pure sand may be allowed in any form without a Phytosanitary Certificate or an import permit. 8.4. Exim Code - 2505 and the item allowed on free import include the natural sand of all kinds except the metal bearing sand as prescribed under Chapter 26 of the Import Policy. 8.5. However, the petitioner failed to prove that the river sand imported by the petitioner does not contain any m....
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....petitioner that the State Government does not have jurisdiction to impose restrictions on the river sand imported from abroad, is untenable. 8.14. Both these Rules have been framed by the State Government to prevent illegal mining, transportation and storage of minerals and hence, they have to be treated as a part of a single scheme. 8.15. The Learned Advocate General also, invoking Article 304 of the constitution of India, submitted that it is well within the powers of the state to impose restrictions to regulate the mining activities within the state and therefore, the state is well within its powers to mandate procedures for mining, transportation, stocking and sale of sand within 0the state to prevent illegal mining and that the State is taking steps to curb the illegal mining and sale within the state and in the absence of proper check mechanism, the import policy could be misused and the illegally mined sand within the state could be sold as imported sand and therefore, to prevent such a hazard in the remedial measures, the action taken by the respondent must be sustained. 8.16. Silica sand though has been excluded in Rule 38-C of the Tamil Nadu Minor Mineral Concess....
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....nd to the State of Kerala and he also undertakes that the petitioner will not unload or sell the imported river sand within the territories of the State of Tamil Nadu during the process of shifting the same from Tuticorin Port to the State of Kerala. An affidavit of undertaking, dated 15.11.2017, has also been filed by the petitioner to that effect. Paragraph 4 of the same, reads as under: "4. We hereby undertake that we will not unload or sell the imported River Sand within the territory of Tamil Nadu State, during the process of shifting the same from Tuticorin Port Trust to Kerala State." 12. However, the said plea is stoutly refuted by the learned Additional Advocate General appearing for the State reiterating the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1959 as well as the Tamil Nadu Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage of Minerals and Mineral Dealers Rules, 2011 and contended that in the absence of registration and transport permit, the petitioner cannot be permitted to transport the imported sand. 13. I have carefully considered the rival submissions and meticulously scrutinised the materials available on record. 14. The di....
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....d the Public Trust doctrine to identify the tide lands not on commercial considerations hut on ecological concepts. We see no reason why the Public Trust Doctrine should not be expanded to include all ecosystems operating in our natural resources. 34. Out legal system "based on English common law" includes the Public Trust doctrine as part of its jurisprudence. The State is the trustee of all natural resources which are by nature meant for public use and enjoyment. Public at large is the beneficiary of the sea-shore, running waters, airs, forests and ecologically fragile lands. The State as a trustee is under a legal duty to protect the natural resources. These resources meant for public use cannot be converted into private ownership. 35. We are fully aware that the issues presented in this case illustrate the classic struggle between those members of the public who would preserve our rivers, forests, parks and open lands in their pristine purity and those charged with administrative responsibilities who, under the pressures of the changing needs of an increasingly complex society, find it necessary to encroach to some extent upon open lands heretofore considered inviolate to....
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....of aquatic and riparian habitats as well. Extraction of alluvial material as already mentioned from within or near a streambed has a direct impact on the stream's physical habitat characteristics. 26. We are of the considered view that it is highly necessary to have an effective framework of mining plan which will take care of all environmental issues and also evolve a long-term rational and sustainable use of natural resource base and also the bio-assessment protocol. Sand mining, it may be noted, may have an adverse effect on biodiversity as loss of habitat caused by sand mining will affect various species, flora and fauna and it may also destabilise the soil structure of river banks and often leaves isolated islands. We find that, taking note of those technical, scientific and environmental matters, MoEF, Government of India, issued various recommendations in March 2010 followed by the Model Rules, 2010 framed by the Ministry of Mines which have to be given effect to, inculcating the spirit of Article 48-A and Article 51-A(g) read with Article 21 of the Constitution. ***** ***** ***** ***** 29. We, in the meanwhile, order that leases of minor minerals....
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....accepted and rapidly implemented.. Regretfully progress in this direction is proving disastrously slow." (See International Wildlife Law by Simon Lyster, Cambridge, Grotius Publications Ltd., 1985 Edn.)" 15.5. In M.Palanisamy v. The State of Tamil Nadu reported in 2012 (4) CTC 1 (Mad), the Honourable First Bench of this Court has observed as under: "21. In order to appreciate the issue involved in these Writ Petitions, we may have to look at the larger picture -the impact of indiscriminate, uninterrupted sand quarrying on the already brittle ecological set up of ours. According to expert reports, for thousands of years, sand and gravel have been used in the construction of roads and buildings. Today, demand for sand and gravel continues to increase. Mining operators, instead of working in conjunction with cognizant resource agencies to ensure that sand mining is conducted in a responsible manner, are engaged in full-time profiteering. Excessive in-stream sand-and-gravel mining from river beds and like resources causes the degradation of rivers. In-stream mining lowers the stream bottom, which leads to bank erosion. Depletion of sand in the stream-bed and along coastal areas c....
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.... threatening bridges, sand mining transforms the riverbeds into large and deep pits; as a result, the groundwater table drops leaving the drinking water wells on the embankments of these rivers dry. Bed degradation from in-stream mining lowers the elevation of stream flow and the flood plain water table, which in turn, can eliminate water table-dependent woody vegetation in riparian areas and decrease wetted periods in riparian wetlands. Sc far as locations close to the sea are concerned, saline water may intrude into the fresh waterbody. 25. It may sound disheartening, but the bitter truth is that such scenarios are evident in almost every State of the Indian territory, irrespective of its climactic and ecological background. Experts, activists and many a politicians realized the environmental problems posed by unchecked sand mining, which resulted in bringing about various legislations to curb mining. But despite legal barriers on exploitative sand mining, institutional framework and enforcement mechanisms are insufficient and mining does persist, unabated. In the southern States, especially in Tamil Nadu, the Government and the media vigorously attack illegal miners. Accordin....
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....ays. The depletion will cause deepening of the rivers and thereby, it would also affect the aquatic habitat. The effects of the sand mining will affect the ecological balance, in such a way that the same cannot be retrieved forever. 17. The significance over the preservation of the environment and that too, agriculture has been reiterated in Tamil Nadu from the Sangam period onwards. The Kings gave importance to protect the water resources. The quality of soil fertility was considered as the country's assets and the yield of the country was considered as the tool of measurement of prosperity of the country. King Karikala Cholan, constructed the Kallanai Dam, on the banks of River Cauvery, which still stands today. By allowing sand/river sand to be mined mindlessly, it ultimately not only affects the flow of the rivers, but also causes a problem of existentialism. 18. The history of the State of Tamil Nadu would reveal that it was highly prosperous and that it is one of oldest in the world to have widespread trading activity including import and export. Even before the advent of foreign rulers, even before the independence and the incorporation of Articles 48-A and 51 of t....
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.... and when there is a demand, it has been permitted to be mined. However, keeping in mind the mining policy and the need of the hour to protect the environment, the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 was enacted by the Parliament, by virtue of the fact that the power to enact was retained under Entry 54 of Union List under Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The rule making power was delegated to the States, following Entry 23 of State List. Such rule making power is to be exercised in consonance with the scope of sections delegating the power. The power to deal with the import and export is within the domain of the Union List under Entry 41 of Union list of the Seventh Schedule. 21. The Central Government, by notification, dated 07.11.2014 as extracted above, has taken a policy decision to permit imports. Under the facts and circumstances of the case pleaded by either of the parties, this Court is of the opinion that the appropriate Ministries of the Central Government must be made as party-respondents in the writ petition for proper adjudication and enforcement of the order in the interest of public. Hence, (i) The Union of India represented by....
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.... at such commencement: Provided further that nothing in this sub-section shall apply to any prospecting operations undertaken by the Geological Survey of India, the Indian Bureau of Mines, [the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research] of the Department of Atomic Energy of the Central Government, the Directorates of Mining and Geology of any State Government (by whatever name called), and the Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited., a Government company within the meaning of [clause (45) of section 2 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013), and any such entity that may be notified for this purpose by the Central Government]:] [Provided also that nothing in this sub-section shall apply to any mining lease (whether called mining lease mining concession or by any other name in force immediately before the commencement of this Act in the Union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu.] (1A) No person shall transport or store or cause to be transported or stored any miner mineral otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder. (2) No reconnaissance permit, prospecting licence or mining lease] shall be granted otherwise than....
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....by reasons of any quarrying or mining operations shall be made in the same area or in any other area selected by the State Government (whether by way of reimbursement of the cost of rehabilitation or otherwise) by the person holding the quarrying or mining lease; (j) the manner in which and the conditions subject to which, a quarry lease, mining lease or other mineral concessions may be transferred; (k) the construction, maintenance and use of roads, power transmission lines, tramways, railways, aerial ropeways, pipelines and the making of passage for water for mining purposes on any land comprised in a quarry or mining lease or other mineral concessions; (1) the form of registers to be maintained under this Act; (m) the reports and statements to be submitted by holders of quarry or mining leases or other mineral concessions and the authority to which such reports and statements shall be submitted; (n) the period within which and the manner in which and the authority to which applications for revision of any order passed by any authority under these rules may be made, the fees to be paid therefore, and the powers or the revisional authority; and (o) any other matt....
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....s been given; (d) inspection, checking and search of minerals at the place of excavation or storage or during transit; (e) maintenance of registers and forms for the purposes of these rules; (f) the period within which and the authority to which applications for revision of any order passed by any authority be preferred under any rule made under this section and the fees to be paid therefor and powers of such authority for disposing of such applications; and (g) any other matter which is required to be, or may be, prescribed for the purpose of prevention of illegal mining, transportation ana storage of minerals. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 30, the Central Government shall have no power to revise any order passed by a State Government or any of its authorised officers or any authority under the rules made under sub-sections (1) and (2)." 23.1. A cursory perusal of the aforesaid provisions throws lime-light on the issue that revolved around for consideration before this Court and thus, the following could be culled out for better appreciation: • The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 deals with reconnaissance....
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....ssance, prospecting and mining operations. Rule 2 (ii-a): "illegal mining" means any reconnaissance or prospecting or mining operation undertaken by any person or a company in any area without holding a reconnaissance permit or a prospecting license or, as the case may be, a mining lease, as required under sub-section (1) of Section 4 of the Act. Explanation- For the purpose of this clause- • Violation of any rules, other than the rules made under section 23C of the Act, within the mining lease area by a holder of a mining lease shall not include illegal mining; • Any area granted under the reconnaissance permit or a prospecting licence or a mining lease, as the case may be, shall be considered as an area held with lawful authority by the holder of such permit or licence or a lease, while determining the extent of illegal mining. Rule 70: "70.Sand not be treated as minor mineral when used for certain purpose.-Sand shall not be treated as a minor mineral when used for any of the following purposes, namely: (i) purpose of refractory and manufacture of ceramic; (ii) metallurgical purposes; (iii) optical purposes; ....
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....nd covered under Rule 38-A of these Rules shall be made across the border to other States." Rule 38-C: "38-C.Storage and transport of sand.-(1) (a) No person shall transport sand without a valid transport permit issued by the Public Works Department or without a sale slip of Licensee duly authenticated by the Taluk headquarters Deputy Tahsildar [or Assistant Engineer / Assistant Executive Engineer (Water Resources Department), Public Works Department or Assistant Director / Deputy Director of Geology and Mining Department] of the jurisdiction from which the sand is transported. (b) No person shall stock sand for sale in any place without a valid licence. (2) (a) No person shall transport sand in any vehicle from the quarry of the Public Works Department without a transport permit issued by the Public Works Department as in Appendix - XVII. (b) No person shall transport sand in any vehicle from the stockyard without the sale slip issued by the Licensee as in Appendix - XVIII and duly authenticated by the taluk headquarters Deputy Tahsildar [or Assistant Engineer/Assistant Executive Engineer (Water Resources Department), Public Works Department or Assistant Director/De....
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....y for renewal mutatis mutandis. (9) When the Licensee sells the sand from the stockyard, the Licensee shall submit the original transport permit issued by the Public Works Department to the concerned taluk headquarter Deputy Tahsildar [or Assistant Engineer / Assistant Executive Engineer (Water Resources Department), Public Works Department or Assistant Director / Deputy Director of Geology and Mining Department] along with the sale slip issued by him. The taluk headquarter Deputy Tahsildar [or Assistant Engineer / Assistant Executive Engineer(water Resource Department), Public Works Department or Assistant Director / Deputy Director of Geology and Mining Department ] shall affix the seal as in Appendix XIX on the quantum of sale slip which is equivalent of the quantum of sand transported with the Public Works Department transport permit slip and also make necessary endorsement on the original transport permit submitted by the Licensee. (10) Every Licensee shall submit a monthly return as in Appendix XXII to the District Collector before the 10th of succeeding month. (11) Non possession of transport permit or sale slip for transport of the sand shall be construed as illici....
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....y makes it lucid that the scope of the Rules was to regulate the quarrying of minor minerals, including sand and regulate the stocking, transportation and sale of such quarried minor minerals, within the State of Tamil Nadu. After introduction of Rule 38-A, the mining activity is to be done only by the Public Works Department and when a person purchases sand from the Department, he has to obtain a licence for storage and transportion. The Rules does deal with the imported sand, be it ordinary sand or silica sand or any other form or for the matter of fact, it cannot deal as because in the first place, the Rules did not deal with the import, the Rules were framed in 1959 and the permission to import with a Plant Quarantine Certificate has been accorded in 2014. Also, The introduction of Rules 38-A, 38-B and 38-C did not alter the original position. At this juncture, it is to be borne in mind that the object of introduction of the Rules in 2003, was only to restrict the right of quarrying of private individuals and increase the role of the State, more particularly, the Public Works Department. The Rules, in the opinion of this Court, can apply only to the sand quarried by the Public ....
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....ly permits the State to make Rules for regulation of quarrying of minor minerals and other procedures that flow with such grant of lease for quarrying. 29. Similarly, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-sections (1) and (1-A) of Section 15 of the Mines and Minerals, (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, the Tamil Nadu Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage of Minerals and Mineral Dealers Rules, 2011 came to be enacted under Section 23(C)(1) of the Central Act 67 of 1957, for prevention of illegal mining and it is relevant to refer to the following provisions: Rule 3 (xiii): 'Mineral' means, all minerals and minor minerals except sand. Rule 6: "6.Transport permit and Transit pass: (1) No person shall transport or otherwise remove or carry away any mineral from any place without obtaining a transit pass from the Deputy Director. Person desiring such passes should file an application before the Deputy Director in Form 'F' duly specifying all the particulars prescribed therein. (2) The application shall be accompanied by a copy of the permit showing payment of royalty / seigniorage on such mineral or other adequate proof of s....
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....ve that offence is being committed and to seize any stock of minerals in respect of which the offence has been or is being committed. (vi) The District Collector is empowered to issue any orders for inspections to be caused and for proper implementation of the Act and Rules within the jurisdiction of the concerned district. If any person is found to keep the mineral in the place other than in stockyard or if any grantee of registration is found to commit any offence or contravene any of the provisions of the Act or Rules including any discrepancies noted in Form 'E' in respect of any stockyard, the District Collector shall take suitable action." 30. A careful analysis of the scope, applicability, object and the Forms under the Rules would imply that it is applicable only in respect of minerals, excluding sand excavated/mined/secured from the State of Tamil Nadu and not to imported sand. Also, in the present case, though the import documents classify the sand as river sand, as pointed out by the learned Advocate General, the HSN Code inscribed by the petitioner is that of 'silica sand' and the Certificate issued by the Minerals and Geoscience Department also di....
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.... by the import policy of the year 2012 and revised by the notification dated 07.11.2014 issued by the Department of Director General of Trade and Finance to obtain a Plant Quarantine Certificate, under the Regulations which though was in vogue in 2003 itself. Therefore, this Court accepting the contention of the petitioner, rejects the stand of the State that the Rules are applicable to the imported goods and therefore, on this ground alone, the petitioner is entitled to succeed. 33. It was contended by the learned Advocate General appearing for the State that it would be within the powers of the State to frame the Rules tracing the power under Article 304 of the Constitution of India and once the power is available under the Parent Act, the same cannot be withered down. This Court is not in agreement with the said contention for the reason that the power is to be derived from the scope of the Act and the power delegated upon. At the cost of repetition, the powers granted under Section 15 and 23-C of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, are for the purposes discussed above and not to deal with an occasion of import. The Rules have been framed deriving t....
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....n the sand dealers under Rule 38-C of the Tamil Nadu Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1959 for the purpose of preventing illegal mining, storage and transportation of sand, cannot be held as illegal, arbitrary, ultra vires the Constitutional provisions or any of the provisions of the Act, We hold that Rule 38-C of the said Rules is fully in conformity with the provisions of the Act and the Rules, and it cannot be held as an excessive exercise of power by the State Government." 34.2. In D.Sivakumar v. The Government of Tamil Nadu reported in 2009 (3) CTC 97, a Honourable Division Bench of this Court, after considering catena of decisions, has upheld the validity of Rule 38-B of the Tamil Nadu Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1959 and held as follows: "We are not in agreement with the submission made by the learned counsel for the simple reason that the Rule 38-B has been introduced by the State as the delegate of the Parliament to carryout the purpose of Section 23-C of the Parent Act. In other words the contention raised by Shri V.T. Gopalan does not arise for consideration, since Rule 38-B has been introduced not deriving the power under Article 304 of the Constitution of Indi....
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....le Division Benches laying emphasis on the protection of the environment as a result of illegal sand mining and transportation to neighbouring States and invoking the Doctrine of Public Trust, upheld the validity of Rules 38-B and 38-C of the Tamil Nadu Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1959. As stated above, the petitioner is an importer of sand from Malaysia, which has been permitted by the Customs authorities, based on a notification issued by the DGFT, a statutory authority under the 15th respondent and the goods have also been cleared after payment of duty and GST. It is also pertinent to reiterate that the APPENDIX XX which is the prescribed Form of application, also deals with a situation, when the sand is purchased from the Public Works Department. Hence, the above decisions are not of any aid to the respondents. 37. The learned Advocate General appearing for the State has raised an issue regarding the hazards/dangers in imported materials and such import can be permitted only in the absence of metals as per Schedule I of Chapter 25. In the present case, the petitioner has produced appropriate Certificate, which this Court has no reason to disbelieve. Therefore, under the ....
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....nder the erstwhile Tamil Nadu Value Added tax Act, with permanent staffs. 40. The Honourable Supreme Court in G.Sundarrajan v. Union of India reported in (2013) 6 Supreme Court Cases 620, while emphasizing the role of a State and the welfare of the public to be supreme and deciding the challenge made to the commencement of Kudankulam Project, reiterated as follows: "226. In Charan Lal Sahu v. Union of India [(1990) 1 SCC 613], this Court, while dealing with the constitutional validity of the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster (Processing of Claims) Act, 1985, observed that the said enactment was passed as a sequel to a grim tragedy that occurred on the night of 2-12-1984. This Court treated it to be the most tragic industrial disaster in recorded human history. While discussing the concept of parens patriae, the learned Chief Justice observed that the conception of the parens patriae theory is the obligation of the State to protect and it takes into custody the rights and the privileges of its citizens for discharging its obligation. While dealing with the said concept, it has been opined that the maxim salus populi (est) suprema lex - regard for public welfare is the highest law. 2....
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....rvations made by this Court, though in a different context, in State of Karnataka v. Praveen Bhai Thogadia [(2004) 4 SCC 684 : 2004 SCC (Cri) : 1387] : (SCC p. 694, para 9) "9.... Welfare of the people is the ultimate goal of all laws, and State action and above all the Constitution. They have one common object, that is to promote the well-being and larger interest of the society as a whole and not of any individual or particular groups carrying any brand names. It is inconceivable that there can be social well-being without communal harmony, love for each other and hatred for none. The core of religion based upon spiritual values, which the Vedas, Upanishads and Puranas were said to reveal to mankind seem to be: 'Love others, serve others, help ever, hurt never' and 'sarvae jana sukhino bhavantoo'." ***** ***** 239. I have referred to the aforesaid pronouncements only to highlight that this Court has emphasised on striking a balance between the ecology and environment on one hand and the projects of public utility on the other. The trend of authorities is that a delicate balance has to be struck between the ecological impact and developme....
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.... thriving, this Court finds it appropriate to issue the following directions to the respondents, as follows: (a) The State shall stop all sand mining/quarrying activities in the State of the Tamil Nadu within six months from today and shall not open any new sand quarries/mines in future; (b) The quarries of granites and other minerals, except, jelly, have to be periodically closed to maintain ecological balance; (c) The respondents shall forthwith issue appropriate directions to the authorities concerned enabling the importers to transport and sell the the imported river sand with appropriate directions to the importers to produce all the import related documents and maintain proper records reflecting the quantity imported, sold, stock in hand and other necessary particulars before the Mines and Commercial Taxes Departments respectively, to check evasion of taxes; (d) The State shall depute a team with experts from the Geological Department to identify, process and import the sands and minerals from countries which permit export and display them for public and the 15th respondent shall cause to effect a publication as to the countries which permi....
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....3 to 16 shall issue appropriate guidelines specifying the quality of sand and its usage so as to enable the importers to get appropriate sand with Certificate from the exporter/authorities in foreign soil, so that the life and property of the common public is not jeopardised and the natural wealth of the State is preserved; and (n) A copy of this order be marked to all the parties concerned forthwith for strict compliance/adherence. 42. Accordingly, this Court feels, that the State will keep the public interest as paramount rather than any other interest and raise to the emergent occasion to protect and preserve the natural resources and environment of the State, which in turn, would pave way for a better life to our future generations. 43. With the above directions, the writ petition is allowed as above. No costs. Consequently, the connected writ miscellaneous petitions are closed. ============= Document 1 இரà¯à®ªà¯à®©à®²à¯à®®à¯ வாயà¯à®¨à¯à®¤ மலையà¯à®®à¯ வரà¯à®ªà¯à®©à®²à¯à®®à¯ வலà¯à®²à®°à®£à¯à®....