Court slams ACS for giving misleading info

Patna: Patna high court on Friday came down heavily on Mihir Singh, additional chief secretary (ACS) of state’s department of mines and geology for “playing fraud with the court”.
A single bench of Justice Purnendu Singh, while hearing a plea of contempt filed by a mining firm from Rohtas district, held that Mihir, while officiating the dual post of ACS of mines & geology department as well as the managing director (MD) of Bihar State Mineral Development Corporation (BSMDC), has given misleading information to the court which is contemptuous.
Justice Singh directed the ACS to furnish an explanation by September 27, failing which the court will initiate contempt proceedings against him. A copy of the order was uploaded on the HC website on Saturday evening.
The petitioner had filed a writ petition against a penalty of over Rs 3 crore slapped on him by the corporation on allegations of illegal sand mining. On April 25, the high court quashed the corporation’s order of penalty and directed Aurangabad’s district magistrate (DM) to constitute a three-member committee to probe into the allegations and then pass an order.
The petitioner’s counsel Fazle Karim said that the inquiry committee, constituted by the DM and also comprising a representative from the corporation, had exonerated the mining firm of the charges of illegal mining. This decision of the committee was challenged by the same representative of the corporation, who filed an appeal before the mines commissioner. Karim alleged that action was taken by the corporation’s representative on the orders of BSMDC’s MD.