Justice Sanjay Dhar Directs Official Respondents to Ensure Badrinath and Chain Singh Do Not Operate Hot and Wet Mixing Plant/Stone Crusher Without Requisite Approval
J&K High Court directs official respondents to ensure Respondent Nos. 9 and 10 do not operate the Hot and Wet Mixing Plant/Stone Crusher without obtaining requisite permission from the competent authority.
Order passed on September 2, 2026 in WP(C) No. 2763/2026 and CM No. 6063/2026 after residents of Village Ghaseetpur, Mandal, approached the court in representative capacity.
Justice Sanjay Dhar issues notice to the respondents, directs steps for service within one week and lists the matter for November 4, 2026, leaving operation of the disputed unit subject to objections and the court’s further orders.
Mohit Mehra
Jammu, September 15, 2026: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh at Jammu has stepped into the controversy surrounding the operation of a stone crushing and Hot and Wet Mixing Plant at Village Ghaseetpur, Mandal, directing the official authorities to ensure that the concerned respondents are not permitted to operate the unit without obtaining the requisite permission from the competent authority.
The significant direction was issued by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sanjay Dhar on September 2, 2026 in WP(C) No. 2763/2026 along with CM No. 6063/2026. The writ petition has been filed by inhabitants of Village Ghaseetpur, Mandal Sub Division, Jammu, in representative capacity, through Sachin Gupta, aged 42 years, represented through attorney holder Arjun Sudan, aged 27 years, resident of Baran, Tehsil Bhalwal, District Jammu.
The respondents include the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir through the Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment, the Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Committee, its Regional Director and Divisional Officer concerned, besides the Deputy Commissioner Jammu, Assistant Commissioner Revenue Jammu, Tehsildar concerned, Mandal Sub Division, Senior Superintendent of Police Jammu, and private respondents Badrinath, proprietor of New B.N. Stone Crusher, and Chain Singh, associated with the same unit.
The court’s order records that the petitioners had sought permission to file the writ petition in a representative capacity. The application was allowed, with the court directing that particulars of filing of the writ petition be published in a newspaper having wide circulation in the area where the petitioners reside, at the petitioners’ expense.
The more consequential part of the order relates to the operation of the stone crusher and Hot and Wet Mixing Plant. After issuing notice to the respondents, the High Court directed that, pending objections from the other side and until the next date of hearing, the official respondents shall ensure that Respondent Nos. 9 and 10 are not allowed to operate the Hot and Wet Mixing Plant/Stone Crusher without obtaining the requisite permission from the competent authority.
The direction brings the operation of New B.N. Stone Crusher directly under judicial scrutiny and places responsibility on the official respondents to ensure compliance with the court’s interim direction. The order is particularly significant because it does not merely call upon the concerned authorities to examine the allegations. It specifically directs them to ensure that the private respondents do not operate the unit unless the legally required permission has been obtained.
The court has also issued notice to the respondents, giving them an opportunity to place their respective positions before the court. The order directs that the requisite steps for service of notice be taken within one week, while the matter has been listed for November 4, 2026.
The interim direction remains subject to objections from the other side and to further orders of the court. The order therefore does not finally adjudicate the rights of the parties or pronounce upon the ultimate legality of the unit. The immediate position, however, is clear: operation without the requisite permission is not to be permitted until the next stage of the proceedings.
The private respondents named in the court record are Badrinath, son of Garib Dass, proprietor of New B.N. Stone Crusher, Village Ghaseetpur, Mandal Sub Division, District Jammu, Pin 180003, and Chain Singh, son of Kashmir Singh, associated with New B.N. Stone Crusher at Village Ghaseetpur, Mandal Sub Division, District Jammu.
The official respondents include the environmental and pollution control authorities as well as the district administration and police authorities, placing the responsibility for enforcement across several arms of the Government machinery. The implementation of the High Court’s direction will therefore be closely watched, particularly on whether the concerned agencies verify the permissions held by the unit and ensure compliance on the ground.
The intervention assumes significance in the backdrop of continuing concerns regarding stone crushing related activities in the Ghaseetpur and Mandal area and questions being raised about statutory permissions and regulatory compliance. The present order provides judicial oversight at a time when the issue has moved beyond local complaints and into formal proceedings before the High Court.
The court’s direction is also important for residents because the petition has been filed in representative capacity, indicating that the issue has been presented as one affecting inhabitants of the area rather than as a purely private dispute. The proceedings will now allow the respondents to place their records and objections before the court, after which the legal position will be examined further.
For the administration, the order places a clear compliance responsibility on the official respondents. The authorities are required to ensure that the concerned Hot and Wet Mixing Plant/Stone Crusher does not operate without the requisite permission from the competent authority. Any action on the ground will therefore have to remain within the scope of the court’s interim direction.
The November 4, 2026 hearing is expected to be important as the respondents will have an opportunity to answer the petition and place their respective records before the High Court. Until then, the interim direction remains in force, subject to objections and further orders.
For the people of Ghaseetpur and surrounding areas, the September 2 order is a significant development because the dispute is now being examined under direct judicial supervision. For the concerned Government agencies, it is an accountability test: whether the permissions are properly verified and whether the High Court’s direction is implemented in full.
The High Court has not, at this stage, given a final finding against the private respondents. What it has done is impose a clear interim safeguard by directing the official respondents to ensure that Respondent Nos. 9 and 10 do not operate the Hot and Wet Mixing Plant/Stone Crusher without requisite permission from the competent authority.
With the matter listed for November 4, 2026, attention will now remain focused on the response of the official authorities, the documents placed before the court and the manner in which the interim direction is enforced on the ground.
