Siddique Areekkan vs The Senior Geologist on 19 December, 2025
The Supreme Court in
Common Cause v. Union of India66 held that illegal mining takes
within its fold the extraction of minor minerals without a mining
plan, mining scheme, environmental clearance, mining lease or a
statutory requirement, as the case may be, and would attract
Section 21(5) of the MMDR Act, 1957. It was also held therein that
65
2014 (1) KLT 536
66
2017 (3) KLT 927 (SC)
WP(C) No.36843/2015 & conn.cases
2025:KER:97705
-:83:-
any person carrying on mining operations without a mineral
concession is indulging in illegal or unlawful mining. It has been
further held that in case of illegal mining, the defaulter must bear
the consequences of illegality and that 100% of the price of the
legally or unlawfully mined mineral must be compensated by the
defaulter.