The Deputy Commissioner does not have the right to cancel the mining lease; rather this right lies with the state government, they said.Advocates representing the petitioner further argued that, according to the Minor Mineral Rules, the Deputy Commissioner cannot do so unless the government grants him the right to do so.“The Deputy Commissioner has cancelled the mining lease citing other allegations including non-payment of royalty. The company was not even given a chance to be heard from his side, which is a violation of natural justice. Therefore, the order of the Deputy Commissioner should be cancelled,” argued the petitioner’s advocate.After hearing the arguments from the petitioner’s counsel, the court imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the Deputy Commissioner. Ramniwas Yadav, a 2015 batch IAS officer, joined as Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Sahibganj in October 2020. Yadav is currently posted as Director of Higher Education.Notably, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided his official residence in Sahibganj last year as part of an ongoing investigation into an alleged mining scam.During the raid, officials seized over Rs 7 lakh in cash and 21 cartridges of various calibres from the premises of the Sahibganj DC.The federal agency recovered a total sum of Rs 36.99 lakh, including Rs 7.25 lakh from Yadav’s camp office.Additionally, authorities confiscated 19 cartridges of 9mm bore, two cartridges of .380mm, and five empty shells of .45 calibre pistols from his residence.Furthermore, 30 suspected “benami” (proxy-owned) bank accounts, discovered during the raid, were frozen.
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