Supreme Court intervenes in Unnao case and Aravalli mining issue; Unnao convict to stay in jail, protection granted to Aravalli hills

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has stayed the release of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who was convicted in the Unnao rape case involving a 15-year-old girl. At the same time, the court has also put a complete halt to mining permissions in the Aravalli hill range until further orders. No new mining licences can be granted or renewed until the court issues another order.

The decision was taken by a bench comprising Chief Justice Suryakant and Justices J. K. Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih. The court was hearing a CBI appeal in the Unnao case and a suo motu case related to mining in the Aravalli hills.

The Supreme Court stayed the Delhi High Court order that had suspended Sengar’s sentence and granted him bail. The court also directed that notice be issued to the convict. The case will be heard again on January 20. After the order, the survivor reportedly collapsed inside the court premises and later said she was satisfied with the verdict. Her mother was also present in court. The survivor and her family had been protesting on the streets since December 23, when the High Court granted bail to Sengar.

The court also stayed its own November 20 verdict that had accepted the recommendations of an expert committee appointed by the central government on issues including mining in the Aravalli range. A new expert committee will now be formed. Attorney General R. Venkataramani and senior advocate K. Parameshwar have been asked to assist the court in the matter. The Aravalli hill range stretches across Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat. The case will be taken up again on January 21. The central government informed the court that mining has already been banned in these four states.

Unnao case is different, says court
The Supreme Court noted that usually it does not stay a bail order passed by a trial court or High Court without hearing the accused. However, the court said the situation in this case is different. Kuldeep Singh Sengar is already serving a sentence in the case related to the murder of the survivor’s father.

Aravalli issue?
Based on the expert committee’s recommendation, the Supreme Court had earlier ruled that only hills with a height of at least 100 metres should be considered as Aravalli hills. Out of 12,081 hills in the range, only 1,048 meet this height criterion. Environmentalists warned that this would expose the remaining hills to large-scale mining. The court observed that even smaller hills are an integral part of the Aravalli ecosystem. The Aravalli range stretches about 670 kilometres from Delhi to Ahmedabad.

Issues to be examined
1. Whether the judgment could lead to uncontrolled mining
2. Whether mining should be allowed between hill ranges
3. Whether detailed geological studies are required