JUDGEMENT

(PER : HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE AKIL KURESHI) The petitioner in this public interest petition has made multiple prayers concerning the issues of illegal mining. Since many of these prayers were unconnected, we requested the counsel for the petitioner to confine the prayers to a single issue and raise other issues, if so desired, separately. In response thereto, Mr.Kapadia confined this petition to the prayers made in (A), (B) and (E) of para 12 which read as under:

“(A) Your Lordships be pleased to declare section 23A of Mines and Minerals (Regulations and Development) Act, 1957 and Rule 14 of the Gujarat Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining Transportation and Storage) Rules, 2005 as arbitrary, unreasonable and unconstitutional.

(B) in the alternatively, Your Lordships be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction directing the respondents to apply provisions of Section 378 and 379 of the IPC in every case of theft of public property in the form of minerals.

(E) Yours Lordships be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction directing the respondents to re