The Supreme Court on Monday gave a limited time extension for a High Powered Committee (HPC) to submit its report on the definition of the Aravalli Hills, a move that would impact how mining activities are regulated in the area. .The earlier deadline to submit the Aravalli panel's report expired on August 31. The expert panel, set up on the Court's orders earlier this year, had sought six months more - until February 28, 2027 - to submit its report on the definition and protection of the Aravalli Hills. However, the Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana took exception to the request, and said it was an attempt to keep the issue in cold storage till CJI Kant demits office."The committee has basically asked for an adjournment till my retirement," remarked CJI Kant during the hearing today. CJI Kant will retire from office on February 9, 2027. .The Court today directed the HPC to “work day and night”, if needed, and submit its report by November 30. No further extension will be granted, the Court said. The Committee must hear all stakeholders, including tribal communities in Rajasthan and Gujarat, and may submit issue-specific interim reports to enable the Court to resolve urgent questions separately, the Bench added. The case is listed next on December 2..The Court was hearing the suo motu case it had initiated concerning the definition and demarcation of the Aravalli range.The proceedings stemmed from the Court’s November 20, 2025 judgment, in which a Bench led by then CJI BR Gavai had accepted an expert committee’s elevation-based definition of the Aravalli Hills and Range for the purpose of regulating mining activity.The judgment defined Aravalli Hills as landforms in Aravalli districts with an elevation of 100 metres or more from local relief, and the Aravalli range as two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other. While the Court accepted recommendations prohibiting mining in core or inviolate areas, it declined to impose a complete mining ban, observing that such prohibition could lead to illegal mining and criminalisation.The definition, however, sparked widespread protests and criticism, with concerns that it would leave over 90 per cent of the Aravalli region outside the protective framework and potentially open vast stretches to mining.In response to the backlash, a Bench led by CJI Surya Kant on December 29, 2025, stayed the November 20 judgment and kept the earlier committee’s recommendations in abeyance. .The new Bench noted that much of the criticism appeared to stem from perceived ambiguities in its directions and held that an independent expert body might be required to assess the ecological implications of the restrictive demarcation.The Court proceeded to order the formation of a new expert panel to examine how the hill range should be defined. In an order passed this May, the HPC was ordered to give its report by August 31.Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati today told the Court that an interim report has been prepared already."The committee should come with a final report, not merely an interim report," CJI Kant replied.ASG Bhati explained that hearing all stakeholders would require more time. "The interim report itself suggests a possible solution. The difficulty is that the affected parties have received only a few seconds of hearing. There must be an effective hearing so that relevant material can be placed before the committee," she said. .The Court eventually rejected the panel's plea for an extension till February next year to submit its final report, instead directing it to submit the report by the end of November. .Senior Advocate K Parameshwar appeared as amicus curiae.
