Mohali, Nov. 11 -- A local court acquitted a Dera Bassi resident in a seven-year-old illegal sand mining case after finding that the prosecution failed to establish that he owned or drove the tractor-trolley carrying the sand. The court also noted that the prosecution could not prove that a designated mining officer had filed the complaint or that the investigation followed the required procedure.

Additional sessions judge Hardip Singh acquitted Balwinder Khan, a resident of Sheikhpura Kalan, in a judgment pronounced on Tuesday. Police had booked him under Section 4(1) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, after allegedly catching him transporting sand without a bill or permit in February 2019.

The case arose...