Supreme Court to hear pleas related to coal block allocation in Chhattisgarh

Supreme Court was told by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for RRVUNL, that the extraction of coal is halted and the whole matter is at “standstill” and hence, the case needed to be heard

The Supreme Court on February 27 said it will hear on March 14 the pleas related to a coal block allocation in Chhattisgarh to the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNL) and mining operations by Adani Enterprise Limited (AEL).

A Bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud was told by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for RRVUNL, that the extraction of coal is halted and the whole matter is at “standstill” and hence, the case needed to be heard.

“We will list it immediately after the Holi vacation on a non-miscellaneous day. We list it on March 14,” said the Bench which also comprised Justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Pardiwala.

The State firm had made a statement in October last year before the court that no coal will be extracted before the matter is heard, Mr. Rohatgi said, adding that, however, the matter has not been listed for hearing since then.

The top court had earlier said that it will hear the pleas on March 2.

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Out of three pending pleas, one is a PIL filed by Dinesh Kumar Soni, an activist from Chhattisgarh, seeking cancellation of the coal block allocated in the State to RRVUNL and the mining operations by AEL for allegedly violating the environmental clearance granted by the Environment Ministry.