Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Monday pulled up the Supreme Court-constituted high-powered committee (HPC) over the delay in arriving at a uniform decision on the Aravalli Hills, asking if it was waiting for him to retire. The CJI-led bench, subsequently, rejected its plea seeking a six-month additional time.

The Supreme Court also directed the HPC to submit its final report by November 30. CJI told Aishwarya Bhati, the additional solicitor general appearing for the Centre, "They should have clearly asked for a date after my retirement…appears they are waiting for my retirement. We are not going to allow this."

The CJI is to demit the office on February 9, 2027. The matter was in the court of CJI, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohanna.

In a stern direction to the five-member panel headed by Kanchan Devi, the DG, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), the bench asked to 'work day and night'.

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The court clarified that no further extension will be granted to the panel. "The high-powered committee has sought an extension till February 28, 2027, with the first stroke of the pen. We reject this plea…The HPC is directed to work day and night and submit its final report by November 30, 2026. We make it clear that no further extension shall be granted," the order read.

Meanwhile, the court also asked the HPC to submit interim reports on specific issues so that urgent aspects of the dispute could be dealt with separately.

The HPC was formed in May this year after the Supreme Court put on hold its own November 2025 ruling, which accepted a definition that sparked fear among environmentalists.

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It is worth mentioning that the Centre-formed panel had proposed that any landform with an elevation of 110 metres or more would qualify as a hill in the Aravalli range. The environmentalists argued that it could leave large portions of the Aravalli vulnerable to mining.