Illegal mining can lead to irreversible damage: Supreme Court bats for expert committee on Aravallis

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said illegal mining is an absolute crime as it leads to irreversible losses and devastating consequences, while emphasising that it will constitute a committee of domain experts to undertake a holistic examination of mining and related issues in the Aravallis.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi said the panel will work directly under its monitoring and supervision. The court extended its stay on November 20, 2025 judgment on definition for demarcating the territorial extent of the Aravalli hills and range.

Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, appearing for a party, contended that illegal mining is being carried out in scattered places, trees were cut, and it must be stopped.

The bench said the court’s directions should be meticulously complied with, and there are some people who are incorrigibly involved in illegal mining, and the government should put its machinery to address this issue.

Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj, for the Rajasthan government, assured to take all possible measures to ensure that no illegal mining takes place.

The bench suggested advocates to refrain from filing fresh writ petitions in the matter, saying the court knows why these are being filed, and pointed out that it has already taken suo moto.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal said he has filed an intervention, going into the history of the Aravallis and the scientific aspect, and he wants to assist the court.

Referring to December 29, 2025 order, the bench said, "We need to have a team, exclusively of experts from different walks of life, from the forest, we need to have domain experts sitting together under one umbrella. We would like all of you to suggest those names, so that an independent expert can be constituted, which will be directly under the monitoring and supervision of this court and undertake the exercise step-wise”.

Sibal submitted that the Aravallis cannot be defined.

"Sub-tectonic strata which move from Gujarat right up to Uttar Pradesh. You start defining Aravalli, then you will arrive at a problem,” he said.

The court asked the ASG and the amicus to suggest within four weeks the names of some eminent environmentalists, scientists, and forest experts who have special expertise in ensuring regulated mining.

“Such an expert committee will work under the direct control and supervision of this court,” the bench said, adding that law must take its own course against those indulging in illegal mining activity.

The bench said the interim direction issued on December 29, 2025, shall continue to operate till further orders.

Following a row over the definition of the Aravalli hills approved by it, the court had taken suo motu cognisance of the issue titled as 'In Re: Definition of Aravalli Hills and Ranges and Ancillary Issues'.

The court on December 29, 2025,

had kept in abeyance its November 20 directions that accepted a uniform definition of these hills and ranges, saying there is a need to resolve "critical ambiguities" including whether the 100-metre elevation and the 500-metre gap between hills criteria will strip significant portion of the range of environment protection.