The National Green Tribunal ruled that local police and mining authorities are legally bound to register First Information Reports under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for the theft of state-owned minerals.
Disposing of an application concerning illegal sand storage in the Mahanadi riverbed in Odisha's Bargarh district, the tribunal ordered criminal proceedings against offender Prem Kishore Patel and environmental compensation recovery.
The NGT clarified that paying administrative penalties or compounding offenses under the Mines and Minerals Act does not exempt offenders from independent criminal prosecution for mineral theft.