Gauhati High Court: In a suo motu public interest litigation (‘PIL’) registered by the Court due to a newspaper report regarding illegal activities being carried out by coal smugglers in the Tipam Hills area destroying the historic Tipam Hills, the Division Bench of Vijay Bishnoi, CJ., and Suman Shyam, J., disposed the PIL while directing the State to complete the archaeological exercise and protect the Ahom Dynasty historical monuments and continuously monitor the Tipam Hills for coal smugglers doing illegal mining.
The Court was informed that the illegal mining activities carried out by the coal smugglers in the Tipam Hills, Digboi, had been stopped since last two years and regular monitoring was being conducted to ensure that no illegal mining was carried out.
Regarding the issue of protection of historically important monuments of the Ahom dynasty, the Court had directed the State to inform what steps had been taken by them. Accordingly, the Directorate of Archaeology informed the Court that a survey was being conducted to identify the historical monuments, check their authenticity, integrity, and archaeological findings, and thereafter, necessary steps would be taken to protect them.
Considering the aforesaid, the Court directed the State to complete the aforesaid exercise within six months and take measures to protect Ahom Dynasty monument. The Court also directed the State to monitor and supervise the Tipam Hills for preventing illegal mining by the coal smugglers.
Accordingly, the PIL was disposed of.
[X v. In Re- State of Assam, PIL (Suo Motu) No. 3 of 2018, decided on 04-02-2025]
*Order authored by Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi
Advocates who appeared in this case :
For the petitioner: T.J. Mahanta, Standing Counsel, Gauhati High Court and Amicus Curiae assisted by Mr. A. Barua
For the respondents: R. Baruah, Standing Counsel D. Gogoi, Senior Advocate M.Z. Ahmed, A.M. Dutta, Senior Government Advocate A. Chandran, Central Government Counsel H. Gupta, and A. Lahkar