A division bench comprising of Justice R V Ravindran and Justice Sudharshan Reddy dropped the contempt charges against him, observing that the Chief Secretary cannot be a party to the proceedings.
The bench observed, “It is not fair on the part of MSPL to implicate the highest authority of the State to resolve the disputes between two business rivals. The Chief Secretary is not an implementing authority and cannot be a party to the proceedings.”
It could be recalled that on April 27, 2009, hearing a special leave petition filed by MSPL, the Apex Court had directed both the parties not to carry out mining activities at the disputed area in Hospet taluk.
The court had further directed the director of mines to implement the court order.
But as the government failed to comply with the court order, the MSPL had filed contempt petitions against the Chief Secretary, and Director of Mines and Geology. On July 20, 2009, the Court had issued contempt notice to him.
However, the bench refused to drop the contempt proceedings against other accused M E Shivalingamurthy, director of mines and geology, Anand Singh, MLA of Hospet.
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