The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday imposed a fine of ₹50,000 on former Sahibganj Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ramniwas Yadav for unlawfully revoking the mining lease of an operator. The court deemed the cancellation illegal.
A bench comprising Chief Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao and Justice Deepak Roshan passed the order. During the hearing, the court ruled that the Deputy Commissioner had no authority to terminate the petitioner’s mining lease before its due time, yet he proceeded with the cancellation.
In addition to the fine, the court has granted the petitioner the liberty to seek damages in civil court for the suspension of mining activities from 8 September 2023 onwards.
The petition was filed in the High Court by M/s Hill Movement, owned by Prakash Yadav. Advocates Prashant Pallav, Parth Jalan, and Shivani represented the petitioner.
Currently, Yadav holds the position of Director of Higher Education. Notably, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided his official residence in Sahibganj last year as part of an ongoing investigation into an alleged mining scam.
During the raid, officials seized over ₹7 lakh in cash and 21 cartridges of various calibres from the premises of the Sahibganj DC. In total, the federal agency recovered ₹36.99 lakh, including ₹7.25 lakh from Yadav’s camp office.
Additionally, authorities confiscated 19 cartridges of 9mm bore, two cartridges of .380mm, and five empty shells of .45 calibre pistols from his residence.
Furthermore, 30 suspected "benami" (proxy-owned) bank accounts, discovered during the raid, were frozen.
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