DELHI: In a significant development, the Supreme Court on Wednesday requested the Chief Justice of Orissa High Court to constitute a dedicated bench to expeditiously dispose of cases, where proceedings to recover dues from illegal mining have been stayed.
The apex court’s two-judge bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Augustine George Masih said that the high court should make an effort to dispose of these cases by March 3, 2026.
The development came after it heard an application in connection with recovery of dues from mining law violations. The bench has now posted the matter for further hearing to the week starting April 6, 2026.
While passing the order, the court noted that many petitions are still pending before the high court where the recovery orders issued by the state have been challenged and stays have been granted. “Since public revenue to a substantial extent is involved, we grant liberty to the state of Odisha to move an application before the Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court by December 19, 2025, with a request to assign all such petitions to a dedicated bench for final disposal within March 31, 2026,” the court added.
The top court also clarified in its order that if the pleas are not decided finally by March 31, at least the prayers made by the state for vacation/alteration/modification of such interim orders may be considered by the dedicated bench. The bench also said that if the high court cannot finish all matters by March 31, 2026, then at least the interim relief granted earlier should be reconsidered.
Earlier, on October 29, the SC had criticised the Odisha government for the way it was handling the process of recovery from mining companies that had violated norms. During the hearing in the case on Wednesday, lawyer Pranav Sachdeva, appearing for the applicant, pointed out that many recovery cases have been stayed by the Orissa High Court.