The Court of Appeal has issued interim orders as sought by the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) against the governor of the eastern province Senthil Thondaman in a case that challenges his orders to prevent proposed exploration for mineral sand in Trincomalee district.
Accordingly, two interim orders have been issued suspending the governor’s directives until the conclusion of the case.
The court issued another interim order against any interference with the petitioners by governor Thondaman or the 12 others cited as respondents.
The governor’s directives have barred the functions of the GSMB that has issued a mineral exploration license in Trincomalee district to a company named Midwest Heavy Sands (Pvt.) Ltd.
The company has entered into and exploration contract with the GSMB that possesses the relevant expertise to conduct mineral explorations.
In the meantime, the governor has directed the district and divisional secretaries in the province to halt the processing of mineral sands and industrial minerals proposals and not to release any lands until evaluated by the provincial minerals evaluation committee at his office.
President's Counsel Faiszer Mustapha with Attorneys-at-law Pulasthi Rupasinghe and Kethmini Dharmasena appeared for the petitioner GSMB.
