The Nagpur bench of the Mumbai High Court has refused to stay activities at the Baranj coal mines in the Wardha valley of Maharashtra following a public interest litigation (PIL) alleging that the mining was likely to affect a nearby ordnance factory and prejudice the defence of the country. The petition was filed by Banwarilal Purohit, a member of Parliament last year. Work on the project, being undertaken by the Ispat Group of Industries, had since come to a halt. In their three-page order, the division bench comprising of Justice V S Sirpurkar and Justice B H Marlapalle has given the go ahead to the Ispat group to resume mining activity.