Supreme Court warns Rajasthan of CBI probe into the regularisation of illegal mining along the Jojari-Luni-Bandi river system, and tells the State to return with a funded plan for effluent treatment and a scientifically fixed river corridor.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has warned the State of Rajasthan that it may order a CBI investigation into alleged illegal mining and the regularisation of mining areas along the Jojari-Luni-Bandi river system, while hearing its suo motu case on contamination of the rivers [In Re: 2 Million Lives At Risk, Contamination in Jojari River, Rajasthan].
A Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta heard the matter on October 26, 2026. Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju appeared for the State of Rajasthan. The case is next listed on November 27.
Background
The Court took up the matter on its own as Suo Motu Writ Petition (Civil) No. 8 of 2025, concerned with pollution of the Jojari, Luni and Bandi rivers in western Rajasthan, which affects about 20 lakh people according to the title of the case. The Court has repeatedly pulled up State authorities over industrial effluent and has set up expert oversight. In August it barred construction within 100 metres of the river edge until flood lines and ecological buffer zones are scientifically demarcated. Those directions are the backdrop to this hearing.
Mining and the CBI warning
The Bench questioned why the State had granted mining leases in areas where illegal mining had already been detected, and why such areas were later regularised. It asked the State to explain its figures on illegal mining and to say why previously identified illegal areas were regularised. The Additional Solicitor General said he would examine the issue. The Court indicated that it would order a CBI probe if the State did not address the matter. These were observations made in court, and no finding has been recorded against any officer.
River corridors and the High Flood Line
The Court accepted the High-Level Ecosystem Oversight Committee’s recommendation that the State protect the entire recorded river corridor, and that where the Revenue and Water Resources Department records differ, the wider boundary should apply. It said the High Flood Line must be fixed with flood conditions in mind and not only dry-season flow, noting that the river floods every two to three years in years of adequate rainfall. The Additional Solicitor General said the State would not grant fresh industrial permissions until flood lines are scientifically determined.
Justice Mehta pointed to a bridge at Balotra across the Luni, roughly 1,782 metres wide against a recorded flow width of about eight metres, and called it the “height of absurdity”. He also criticised the Chief Engineer of the Water Resources Department for citing the Court’s September 22 order to justify a narrower corridor, and suggested that the officer be suspended. Justice Nath remarked that officials were “hoodwinking” the Court.
Effluent treatment and Sanganer
The State must return at the next hearing with a concrete financial proposal to fund common effluent treatment plants using zero-liquid-discharge technology, with the State bearing a share of the cost and industry contributing as well. Justice Mehta, rejecting the economic argument for leniency, said making 20 lakh people live in hell could not be compared with the economic viability of a few thousand people.
The Bench added that if the proposal is unacceptable, it may turn to the Sanganer industrial area, where the State’s own affidavit is said to record that nearly 80 per cent of industries operate without no-objection certificates, and indicated that this too could warrant a CBI probe. The State has been asked for a practical plan that restores the river system while allowing compliant industries to operate.
Case Title: In Re: 2 Million Lives At Risk, Contamination in Jojari River, Rajasthan [Suo Motu Writ Petition (Civil) No. 8 of 2025]
Bench: Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta, Supreme Court of India
Date of Hearing: October 26, 2026
Appearances: Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju for the State of Rajasthan