A Special Investigation Team will now investigate illegal bajri mining in the Luni, Jojari and Bandi rivers of Rajasthan, after the Supreme Court found that the State’s Mining Department had tried to legitimise illegal extraction by granting leases instead of acting against those responsible.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed the State of Rajasthan to constitute, within three days of receiving its order, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by an officer not below the rank of Inspector General of Police to probe organised illegal bajri (gravel) mining in the Luni, Jojari and Bandi rivers and their tributaries, including the role of public officials who may have enabled it. The Court also barred permissions for new industrial units along or near the river ecosystem until the High Flood Line and buffer zones are scientifically fixed [In Re: 2 Million Lives At Risk, Contamination In Jojari River, Rajasthan].
The order, dated October 26, 2026 and reported as 2026 INSC 1203, was passed by a bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta in the suo motu proceedings on the pollution of the Jojari-Luni-Bandi river system, which affects the lives of about 20 lakh people.
Leases cannot cure illegal mining
The Rajasthan Mining Department had explained that mining leases were later granted, as per prescribed procedure, in several areas where illegal mining had earlier been detected. The bench held that procedural compliance did not answer whether such leases were environmentally sustainable, and that the impact of mining in these stretches had to be independently assessed with regard to river flow, the integrity of beds and banks, replenishment capacity, groundwater recharge and cumulative mining. It observed:
“We deprecate the apparent attempt on the part of the Mining Department of the State of Rajasthan to legitimise illegal mining activities being carried out in the riverbeds by subsequently granting mining leases, rather than taking appropriate action against those responsible. We shall consider directing appropriate action against the officers found responsible for permitting or facilitating such activities.”
“The State cannot discharge its obligation to protect the river systems merely by reporting the number of cases detected, FIRs registered, penalties recovered or leases granted. The relevant consideration is whether the measures adopted are capable of preventing further degradation and securing the restoration of the affected areas.”
On the previous date of hearing, the Court had warned the State that it may hand the inquiry into illegal mining and the regularisation of mining areas to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
What the SIT must look into
The SIT will include the Superintendents of Police of Jodhpur, Balotra and Pali. Defining the scope of the probe, the Court ordered:
“The SIT shall undertake a comprehensive investigation into organised illegal bajri mining activities affecting the Luni, Jojari and Bandi rivers and their tributaries. The investigation shall extend to identifying the persons and entities involved in such activities, the networks through which the illegal extraction, transportation and sale of bajri are organised, and the beneficiaries of such operations.”
The team must also examine whether public officials facilitated or enabled illegal mining, including through collusion, dereliction of duty or failure to act despite knowledge of violations, and initiate action against those found responsible. It is to file a status report on or before the next date of hearing, November 27, 2026.
Buffer zones and bar on new industries
The Court directed that an additional protective zone of 100 metres be maintained on either side of the recorded outer boundaries of the rivers, and that no Red Category industry be set up within 500 metres of those boundaries. Until the High Flood Line and buffer zones are scientifically determined, the State shall not grant permission for new industrial units along or in the vicinity of the riverine ecosystem.
Anonymous complaints, groundwater and amici
The Integrated Public Reporting and Environmental Grievance Redressal Mechanism, ordered on August 7, 2026, must now allow anonymised complaints about illegal bajri mining and other unlawful activity affecting the rivers, and refer them to the competent authorities.
Acting on concerns raised by Digvijay Singh Jasol about groundwater depletion and industrial pollution in the Balotra region, classified as an over-exploited zone, the Court asked Rajasthan to file a separate affidavit and directed that the Central Ground Water Authority be impleaded within one week and file an affidavit on groundwater availability, extraction and depletion in Jodhpur, Balotra and Pali.
Calling the issues “complex and multifaceted”, the bench appointed Senior Advocate Balbir Singh and Advocate-on-Record Namit Saxena as amici curiae.
NGT’s appellate jurisdiction intact
Bherawa Textile Industries Pvt. Ltd., whose Consent to Operate was revoked by the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) on August 18, 2026, had moved applications before the Court. The Court clarified that its orders of March 18 and May 29, 2026, which bar closed units from resuming operations without its leave, do not take away the National Green Tribunal’s statutory appellate jurisdiction to examine the legality of an independent RSPCB order.
The company had withdrawn its NGT appeal on October 5, 2026 after the Tribunal held the proceedings governed by the Supreme Court’s orders. The applications were disposed of with liberty to seek restoration of Appeal No. 14 of 2026 (CZ), which the NGT shall decide on its own merits.
Why the order matters
The order moves the river case from pollution control to accountability for sand and gravel extraction. By refusing to treat a later lease as a cure for earlier illegal mining, and by asking the SIT to look at the officials who allowed it, the Court has signalled that paperwork will not substitute for environmental scrutiny. The buffer zones and the freeze on new industries near the rivers add hard limits that will shape industrial planning in Jodhpur, Balotra and Pali, while the clarification on the NGT keeps an affected unit’s statutory appeal alive.
Case Title: In Re: 2 Million Lives At Risk, Contamination In Jojari River, Rajasthan [Suo Motu Writ Petition (Civil) No. 8 of 2025, with Civil Appeal Nos. 5517-5519 of 2022 and connected matters]
Citation: 2026 INSC 1203
Bench: Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta, Supreme Court of India
Date of Order: October 26, 2026
Amici Curiae: Senior Advocate Balbir Singh and AoR Namit Saxena
Next Date: November 27, 2026