Illegal mining: HC rejects UP govt plea for withdrawal of CBI

probe order                   Allahabad, Sept 9 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court todayrejected an application by the Uttar Pradesh government forwithdrawal of a two-month-old order whereby the CBI had beendirected to investigate allegations of illegal mining acrossthe state. The probe agency also submitted a report on its findingsin a sealed cover. The CBI had been asked to file its reportwithin six weeks. A division bench comprising Justice D B Bhosale andYashwant Varma rejected the application of the stategovernment seeking withdrawal of order dated July 28, 2016,asking CBI to conduct an inquiry into allegations of illegalmining. The court later deferred hearing in the matter tillSeptember 12. It had passed the order of CBI inquiry while hearing apublic interest litigation filed by Vijay Kumar Dwivedi andothers who had alleged that mining leases of a number oflessees had been "unlawfully extended" in the state after thesame had expired in 2012. The court had, while ordering a CBI probe, observed thatthe claim made in affidavits filed by District Magistratesacross the state that no illegal mining was taking place intheir areas of jurisdiction was "false" and dismissed as an"eyewash" the submission of principal secretary (mining) thata committee had been set up to look into allegations ofillegal mining. PTI CORR NACSC