Bengaluru, Oct 23: Former Prime Minister H DDeve Gowda and ex-Chief Ministers H D Kumaraswamy andSiddaramaiah welcomed the Delhi HighCourt order on Wednesday granting bail to Congress leader D K Shivakumar in a money laundering case, filed by the Enforcement Directorate.

As the news about Shivakumar getting bail broke, his supporters and Congress workers celebrated by bursting crackers and distributing sweets in Ramanagara, Belagavi, Tumakuru, Kanakapura, Mandya and near his Bengaluru residence.

"Delhi High Court granting bail to D K Shivakumar has increased common man's trust in country's judicial system. I welcome the court's decision," Gowda tweeted.

Shivakumar, a seven-time MLA, was arrested by the EDon September 3 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

"Getting bail from Delhi high court is happy news," Siddaramaiah told reporters at Bagalkote.

He alleged that Shivakumar was being politically targeted.

"...let them (ED) investigate, but sending to jail duringinvestigation is not right. On proving to be guilty one can besent to jail, but sending while the investigation is still onis not right. Vengeance politics is not right..," he added.

The 57-year-old Shivakumar is under judicial custody and presently lodged in Tihar jail.

Both the Congress and Shivakumar have claimed he was beingtargeted by the BJP-led government at the Centre by "misusing" investigating agencies.

"Delhi High Court granting bail to D K Shivakumar is a matter of happiness. On Monday I had met Shivakumar and tried to boost his courage, and expressed hope about him getting bail," Kumaraswamy tweeted.

The JD(S) leader who met Shivakumar at Tihar jail on Monday had said that the Congress leader was "bold" to fight "vengeance politics".

Shivakumar and Kumaraswamy, both Vokkaliga strong men, have been bitter political opponents in the old Mysuru region,until they came together for the formation of Congress-JD(S) coalition government, after 2018 assembly polls.

Shivakumar was a key minister in the Kumaraswamy cabinet and played a major rule in the stability of the coalition government until it collapsed in July, following resignation of several MLAs of the two parties, eventually leading to installation of the BJP government.

His arrest had lead to widespread protests, especially in Ramanagara, Bengaluru rural, Mandya and other parts of old Mysuru region.

It had even taken a caste colour with thousands of people belonging to the Vokkaliga community taking out a rally recently in Bengaluru protesting the arrest and expressing solidarity with him.

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New Delhi, Dec 5: The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside an NGT order imposing around Rs 3 crore fine on M/s Govardhan Mines and Minerals as compensation for damages to the environment on account of illegal stone mining activities in the Dadam Hills of Tosham at Bhiwani, Haryana.

Asking the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to deal with the case afresh, a bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and justices Sanjay Kumar and Manmohan took strong note of the green panel’s order and said it did not deal with the contentions of the firm and adopted the report of a committee set up to ascertain illegal mining.

“This order does not deal with the contentions raised by the mining company (M/s Govardhan Mines and Minerals). The arguments of the parties are needed to be dealt with by the first court which is NGT here,” the CJI said.

The bench accepted the submissions of senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the mining firm, that the NGT did not deal with the contentions of the company and based its findings on the committee's report which was wrong.

The CJI, however, did not agree with Divan's legal submission of "res judicata".

"Res judicata" is a legal doctrine that prevents a court from re-examining a case that has already been decided by the same court which means a litigant cannot be vexed again and again on decided issues.

Divan argued that the issue of the alleged illegal mining was previously decided by the NGT and the same could not have been re-agitated by the panel in another case.

On August 26, 2022, the NGT issued a detailed order penalising the mining firm for illegal and unscientific mining and also laid out directives for environmental restoration and strict compliance with safety norms.

The tribunal’s order followed a series of investigations and reports that allegedly exposed violations, including mining beyond permissible boundaries and non-compliance with the approved mining plans.

A fact-finding committee led by Justice Pritam Pal, a former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, concluded that illegal mining extended beyond the approved area, including forest zones and beyond permissible depths.

The committee held there were gross violations of environmental clearance conditions and mining plans, including the failure to maintain the required 7.5-meter green belt and safety zones within the leased area.

It had imposed a penalty equivalent to 10 per cent of the value of illegally mined material, replacing the earlier recommendation of Rs 7.5 crores.

The NGT also directed the Haryana government to assess the cost of restoring the damaged Aravalli plantation and recover these costs from the mining firm.