What Supreme Court said while staying its own order in Aravalli case
The Supreme Court has stayed the definition of the Aravalli range that it had accepted following recommendations from the central government.
On Monday, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court said that "the order of November 20 relating to the definition of the Aravalli hills should be kept in abeyance for the time being as there are several issues that require further examination."
The bench also proposed constituting a new high-level committee to assess the recommendations of all previous committees formed regarding the definition of the Aravalli hills.
The court also asked Attorney General R. Venkataramani to assist the court in this matter, including on the composition of the proposed committee.
The next hearing in the case will be on January 21.
The Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the matter and heard the case on Monday after a controversy erupted over the new definition of the Aravalli hills.
Chief Justice Justice Surya Kant said, "We direct that the recommendations of the committee and the subsequent findings of the Supreme Court shall remain stayed for the time being. The matter will be heard on January 21, 2026."
Protests had erupted
Recently, protests erupted across almost all of North India after the Supreme Court changed the definition of the Aravalli hills.
The Aravalli range is one of the oldest geological structures in the world, stretching across Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, and the national capital Delhi.
According to the definition of the Aravalli range accepted by the Supreme Court following the central government's recommendations, only those parts of the land that are at least 100 meters (328 feet) above the surrounding land would be considered Aravalli hills.
Two or more such hills, which are within a radius of 500 meters and have land between them, would then be considered part of the Aravalli range. Environmentalists say that defining the Aravalli range solely on the basis of altitude will open the door to mining and construction on many hills that are less than 100 meters tall, covered with shrubs, and crucial for the environment.
However, the central government says that the new definition aims to strengthen and standardize the rules, not to weaken environmental protection.
Following the decision, Neelam Ahluwalia, convenor of the Aravalli Heritage People's Movement, said, "The Supreme Court has ordered a detailed independent study on the impact of the new definition. The public movement demanding the protection of the Aravalli range will continue."