Madras High Court Rules on Mineral Transport Route Deviation
The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court has held that a mere deviation from the route specified in a valid transit pass while transporting minerals will not automatically attract charges of theft or illegal mining, in the absence of specific allegations to that effect.
Justice R. Vijayakumar made this observation while quashing an FIR registered by the Palamedu police in Madurai district against one Asaithambi. The petitioner was booked under Section 303(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Section 21(5) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.
The case arose when the petitioner’s tractor, carrying fencing stones, was intercepted at Palamedu. The transit pass permitted transport of fencing stones from Melur to Alanganallur, but the vehicle was found at Manikampatti, which the police claimed was not on the permitted route.
The court noted that the FIR itself acknowledged the petitioner had a valid transit pass, and the only allegation was a deviation from the prescribed route. “Hence, it is clear that there is only violation of the transit pass and there is no theft of fencing stones or any minerals belonging to the government,” the judge said.
Holding that invoking penal provisions was not legally sustainable, the court stated that continuing proceedings would amount to an abuse of the process of law, and consequently quashed the FIR.
This ruling underscores the principle that technical violations of transport conditions do not necessarily equate to criminal offenses like theft or illegal mining, unless there is evidence of actual wrongdoing.
