Rajasthan's Jojari River Pollution: SC Directs Registry to Seek CJI’s Orders for Joint Hearing with Related Appeals
Pranav B Prem
The Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognizance of severe industrial pollution in Rajasthan’s Jojari River, triggered by a YouTube documentary titled “2 Million Lives at Risk | India’s Deadliest River | Marudhara | Jojari | Rajasthan” uploaded by the channel News Pinch on September 12, 2025. The Bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta noted that the same environmental issues have been the subject of long-standing litigation before the Rajasthan High Court and subsequently before the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Principal Bench, New Delhi.
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Taking note of the overlapping issues between pending statutory appeals and the suo motu writ, the Court directed the Registry to place the matter before the Chief Justice of India for appropriate orders to enable a joint hearing of all connected cases.
Background
The Bench, while registering the suo motu writ petition on September 16, 2025, examined the documentary and related materials which highlighted alarming levels of water contamination in the Jojari River, adversely affecting lakhs of people across Jodhpur, Pali, Balotra, and adjoining districts. The Court noted that similar concerns had been raised earlier in Writ Petition Nos. 2844 of 2011 and 9503 of 2012 before the Rajasthan High Court, which were later transferred to the NGT as Original Application Nos. 34 (THC) of 2014 and 32 (THC) of 2014. In addition, Gram Panchayat Araba had filed O.A. No. 329 of 2015 before the NGT, Principal Bench, specifically concerning the pollution in the Jojari River.
NGT Proceedings and Findings
To address rampant pollution in the Luni, Bandi, and Jojari river systems, the NGT in 2020 constituted a Special Task Force, later replaced by three monitoring committees headed by Justice (Retd.) Prakash Chandra Tatia, former Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court. The Committees, through their interim (April 20, 2021) and final (July 22, 2021) reports, identified serious violations, including:
Continuous discharge of untreated industrial effluents from textile and steel industries in Jodhpur, Pali, and Balotra;
Failure of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) and Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) to maintain prescribed discharge standards;
Mixing of untreated sewage with industrial waste;
Poor monitoring by local bodies and the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB).
The NGT, in its final order dated February 25, 2022, issued extensive directions mandating:
Strict Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) compliance for all industries;
Imposition of environmental compensation under the Polluter Pays principle;
Closure of defaulting industries found discharging untreated waste; and
Constitution of a joint monitoring committee comprising CPCB, RSPCB, CGWA, and District Magistrates to oversee restoration measures.
The NGT also ordered RIICO, the Municipal Councils of Jodhpur, Pali, and Barmer, to pay ₹2 crore each as environmental compensation and mandated that compliance reports be filed within six months.
Appeals Pending Before Supreme Court
Statutory appeals under Section 22 of the NGT Act, 2010 were subsequently filed before the Supreme Court challenging the NGT’s 2022 directions. These include:
RIICO v. Digvijay Singh & Ors. (C.A. Nos. 5517–5519 of 2022) – interim stay granted on August 29, 2022;
Municipal Council, Pali v. Kisan Paryavaran Sangharsh Samiti (C.A. No. 8748 of 2022) and Nagar Nigam, Jodhpur v. Gram Panchayat Araba (C.A. Nos. 9057–9058 of 2022) – tagged with the RIICO appeal;
Municipal Council, Balotra v. Digvijay Singh & Ors. (C.A. Nos. 9010–9011 of 2022) – tagged subsequently on November 28, 2022.
The Court noted that while these appeals challenge the NGT’s pollution control directions, they concern the same river system and industries that form the subject matter of the suo motu case.
Supreme Court’s Observations and Directions
After reviewing the record, the Bench observed that the environmental crisis in the Jojari, Bandi, and Luni rivers was a continuing ecological disaster, warranting consolidated judicial scrutiny. The Court recorded that the issues involved in Civil Appeal No. 2901 of 2022, earlier clubbed with the RIICO case, were unrelated and should be de-tagged. Directing coordination of all connected matters, the Bench ordered: “The Registry is directed to place the papers before Hon’ble the Chief Justice of India for seeking direction of analogous hearing for all the above referred matters with the suo motu writ petition.” This means that all connected appeals — including RIICO, Municipal Councils of Jodhpur, Pali, and Balotra, and Gram Panchayat Araba matters — will now be placed before the CJI for joint hearing and adjudication.
Earlier Proceedings
On September 15, 2025, while initiating the suo motu proceedings, the Supreme Court had noted that the contamination was affecting hundreds of villages, rendering water non-potable and posing a grave public health hazard. The Bench had called for urgent action from the State of Rajasthan, the Pollution Control Board, and Central authorities, observing that the situation required immediate judicial intervention. The order ensures that all cases concerning the Jojari River pollution will now be heard together to secure a comprehensive environmental remedy.
Cause Title: In Re 2 Million Lives at Risk, Contamination in Jojari River Rajasthan
Case No: Suo Moto Writ Petition (Civil) No(S). 8 Of 2025
Coram: Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta
