Illegal mining: 2 awarded imprisonment till rising of court

A Delhi court today sentenced two men to imprisonment till the rising of the court after convicting them for illegal stone mining.
Metropolitan Magistrate Sandeep Garg held Baljeet and Gulab Singh guilty of engaging in illegal quarrying of stones from mines in and around Mehrauli in south Delhi and transporting the extracted stones in a truck without valid licence.
The duo were held guilty under provisions of the�Mines�and Minerals�(Development�and�Regulation)�Act and the Motor Vehicles Act.
They were arrested by the police on May 19, 2004 near village�Chandan haula in Mehrauli and a charge sheet was filed in June that year.
The accused pleaded not guilty to the offences alleged against them and claimed trial.

However, during the trial, they both voluntarily pleaded guilty and sought leniency on the ground that they are sole bread earners in their families and have to look after their children.
"Considering the socio�economic condition of the convicts Baljeet�and�Gulab�Singh and the fact that the convicts have families to be looked after and fair chances of reformation," the court sentenced them to imprisonment till the rising of the court and a fine of Rs 8,000�each.