The Supreme Court of India refused pleas on the Aravalli Zoo Safari, saying no one will be allowed to touch the Aravalli Range. A bench led by Surya Kant with Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi deferred permissions temporarily.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court declared that it “will not allow anyone to touch” the Aravalli range, refusing to entertain any requests concerning the proposed Aravalli Zoo Safari project in Haryana at this time.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, made it clear that no permissions for the project will be granted until the court assesses the broader matter regarding the definition of the Aravalli range.
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The court was considering a plea from the Haryana government, which sought permission to submit a revised detailed project report (DPR) for the proposed jungle safari in Gurgaon and Nuh districts to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) appointed by the court.
The state’s counsel informed the bench that the DPR had been revised, reducing the project area from 10,000 acres to a little over 3,300 acres, and requested that the court permit the revised report to be presented to the CEC.
The Chief Justice stated,
“We will not permit anything today. We are absolutely firm. We will not allow anyone to touch this Aravalli range as of now, unless on a very scientific basis, a holistic report prepared by an impartial arbiter, a group of experts really come to our satisfaction for which we have already requested the Union of India,”
He added that an expert committee would be formed based on recommendations from the Centre.
He remarked,
“We are definitely not the experts. So, we will like to be guided by some independent agency,”
The bench clarified that it would only consider the safari project after the expert committee submits its opinion on the larger issue.
The CJI confirmed,
“We will not grant any permission for even a single inch today unless in the main matter we are satisfied absolutely as per the law,”
These comments referenced the court’s December 29, 2025, order, which suspended its November 20, 2025, judgment that accepted a 100-metre height-based definition of the Aravalli hills as proposed by a government committee. That judgment is on hold until a panel of experts assesses the committee’s report.
The committee recommended that any landform in designated Aravalli districts measuring 100 metres or more above local relief should be defined as an Aravalli hill. It suggested that an Aravalli range should consist of two or more such hills within 500 metres of one another. Activists have cautioned that this definition could permit mining on hills below the 100-metre threshold.
On Thursday, the state’s counsel argued that defining the Aravalli hills and ranges is tied to mining activities and that the safari project is unrelated. However, the CJI responded that this is precisely why no project could proceed until the definition issue is resolved.
He noted,
“We are not permitting anything and we do not want the platform of this court to be used for any kind of… sometimes some friendly matches also take place here. Therefore, we have to be extraordinarily cautious,”
The CJI remarked,
When the state sought permission for the CEC to review the safari DPR, the bench declined. “We will not permit anything. We will deal with it independently here. Whatever the CEC wants to say… They are very selective in their opinion… We don’t want them to examine,”
When the counsel claimed that the state was not advancing with the project but merely asking for the DPR to be reviewed, Justice Bagchi said,
“You are. An action to form a DPR and seek its consideration by the CEC is a step to establish the safari.”
The CJI stressed the importance of a comprehensive approach, noting that the Aravalli range extends beyond state lines.
He stated.“Aravalli neither starts nor ends in Haryana. Aravalli neither starts nor ends in Rajasthan. Aravalli has a full range. We have to take a holistic view depending on the entire aspects of the Aravalli and the composite range,”
The court was reviewing a petition filed by five retired Indian Forest Service officers and the NGO ‘People for Aravalis,’ who have asserted that the safari project would threaten the ecologically sensitive Aravalli range. In October 2025, while considering the plea, the Supreme Court had instructed the Haryana government not to proceed with the project.
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