New Delhi – In a strong statement on Monday, the Supreme Court of India expressed grave concern over the “violent” natural calamities in the Himalayan region this year, warning that the entire range is at a heightened risk of disaster. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, hearing a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) on ecological degradation in Himachal Pradesh, announced its intention to expand the scope of the case to cover the entire Himalayan range.
The observation came during a hearing where Senior Advocate K. Parameshwar, appointed as an amicus curiae, submitted that the Himachal Pradesh government’s report on the crisis was insufficient and lacked concrete measures, merely suggesting the formation of a committee. The Court agreed with this assessment and noted that the issues extended far beyond a single state. “It isn’t going to be limited to Himachal only, but the entire Himalayan range that is facing the issue. This time it has been very very violent,” the bench remarked.
The suo motu case was initiated in August 2025 by a different bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan, who had taken note of reports highlighting the severe ecological degradation in Himachal Pradesh. At the time, the court had issued a stark warning that the state could “vanish in thin air” if urgent remedial measures were not taken. That bench had also directed both the state and the Union government to submit detailed action plans to tackle the environmental crisis.
The court has now listed the matter for September 23 for the pronouncement of a detailed order, which is expected to outline the broadened scope of the PIL and direct a comprehensive approach to address the ecological vulnerabilities of the entire Himalayan region. The court reiterated its earlier observation that “nature is definitely annoyed with the activities which are going on in the State of HP” and that human actions, not natural phenomena, were primarily responsible for the cascading disasters.