The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant an additional 6 months to the High-Powered Committee (HPC) formed on the Aravalli mountain range dispute to submit its report. The court has ordered the committee to submit the report by November 30, 2026, at any cost.
During the hearing, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said, “Is the committee waiting for me to retire?” He told Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati that the committee should work day and night and submit the report within 2 months.
The bench of CJI, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana said that if the committee is not capable of preparing the report, it should inform the court. In such a situation, the committee will be reconstituted.
CJI Surya Kant will retire on February 9, 2027, and Justice Vikram Nath will become the next CJI of the country.
Formation of a 5-member committee
On May 25, the Supreme Court constituted a five-member HPC, headed by the Director General of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), to re-examine the definition of the Aravalli range.
The committee was formed following a controversy that erupted after an earlier bench accepted the 100-metre height definition proposed by a government-appointed committee on the orders of the Supreme Court.
In its 25 May order, the Supreme Court had asked the HPC to examine whether limiting the definition of ‘Aravalli Hills and Range’ to only the 500-metre area between two or more Aravalli hills creates a structural contradiction, significantly reducing the geographical scope of the protected area.
