In a significant legal reversal, the Supreme Court on Monday set aside a Karnataka High Court ruling that had quashed a 2013 criminal case against M/S MSPL Limited and others, involved in an alleged illegal iron ore export operation. The bench, led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, directed the Dharwad bench of the Karnataka High Court to reevaluate the case, excluding considerations on the quantity of iron ore allegedly exported by the company.
The decision came after the Supreme Court reviewed appeals by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against the High Court’s judgement from December 12, which had initially halted the proceedings. The High Court had argued that the CBI lacked jurisdiction as the alleged amount of illegally exported iron ore—39,480 metric tonnes—fell below the 50,000-metric-tonne threshold established by the Supreme Court for CBI intervention.
However, the High Court had acknowledged that while the CBI might not have jurisdiction under the specified conditions, the Special Investigating Team of the Karnataka Lokayukta could still pursue actions against offenses involving lesser quantities, per Supreme Court directives.
In its ruling, the High Court emphasized that for any prosecution of the company’s directors, their specific roles in the illegal activity had to be unequivocally established through the complaint, investigation, and chargesheet stages. It maintained that directors could not be implicated without clear evidence of their direct involvement.
The backdrop of this case includes a Supreme Court order from September 7, 2012, which directed the CBI to initiate a preliminary investigation concerning a substantial volume of iron ore—approximately 50.79 lakh metric tonnes—exported without valid permits from Belekeri port between January 2009 and May 2010. Despite the delay, the CBI filed its chargesheet nearly nine years after the FIR was lodged, citing violations under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act.
