‘Should we send CM, Ministers to jail?’: Jharkhand HC stays minor minerals auction till PESA law enforced

Ranchi — The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday halted all auctions of minor minerals, including sand ghats, across the state until the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) is properly implemented.

A bench led by Chief Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Rajesh Shankar issued the order while hearing a contempt petition filed by the Adivasi Intellectual Forum, which accused the government of ignoring a July 2024 directive to frame and notify PESA rules.

The court expressed sharp displeasure with the state government’s repeated delays. When Manoj Kumar, Principal Secretary of the Panchayati Raj Department, appeared before the bench, the judges asked pointedly: “Do you want us to send the Chief Minister and the ministers to jail? Is this what you are suggesting?”

The bench underlined that the government’s inaction weakens the constitutional vision of the 73rd Amendment, which empowers gram sabhas in tribal areas to manage local land and resources. Despite the government’s claim that a draft of the rules had been circulated for objections and still awaited cabinet approval, the court saw this as another delaying tactic.

Petitioner’s counsel Ajit Kumar argued that the government was deliberately buying time while simultaneously proceeding with long-term leases of sand ghats and other mineral mines. “By the time rules come into force, the gram sabhas will be left with nothing,” he said.

With this ruling, no auctions of minor minerals in Jharkhand will take place until further orders.

With inputs from IANS