Aravalli Definition Stayed: Supreme Court's Second Look
- IJLLR Journal
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Tanisha Bandil, UPES
ABSTRACT
The article, "Aravalli Definition Stayed: Supreme Court's Second Look," dissects the Supreme Court of India's decision to stay its earlier ruling on November 20, 2025, which defined the Aravalli hills only as landforms exceeding 100 meters in height over local relief and ranges as two or more such hills within a 500-meter area. The stay, issued in suo motu Writ Petition (Civil) No. 10/2025, was based on criticisms that the definition relying only on elevation was scientifically weak, that it would only protect a small proportion (~8%) of Rajasthan hills (1,048 out of 12,081), and that it was possible that the mining in the ecologically sensitive zones might get the green light because of it.
The Aravalli mountain range stretching over the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi forms the backbone of approximately 692 km in length and plays a crucial role as a desert barrier, groundwater recharge zone, and biodiversity corridor. The November definition posed a threat to the forest and animal life by causing habitat fragmentation, desertification, and making 'non-Aravalli' mining easier under the critical-minerals exemptions.
In the course of T.N. Godavarman (1995) and M.C. Mehta (1985) landmark PILs, the Court reinstated the Forest Survey of India’s 2010 slope-based definition (≥3° gradient + 100 m buffer), prohibited the issuance of new mining leases without approval, and appointed an expert committee (with CEC and amicus support) to make a new assessment of ecological continuity and sustainability. The decision was welcomed by the activists and leaders such as Aaditya Thackeray, as it not only reinforced the precautionary principle but also public trust doctrine. The article goes on to show the way through the judicial history, the controversies, the ecological stakes, corporate implications, and the perspectives leading to the January 21, 2026 hearing, which is a telling case of the changing face of environmental governance through the judicial system in India.
