The Supreme Court of India has recently allowed M/s Alankar Granites, a stone crusher unit in Kerala, to withdraw its Special Leave Petition (SLP) and raise the issue of operating in an Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) before the Kerala High Court.
A bench of Justices K.V. Vishwanathan and N.K. Singh heard the matter regarding the validity of the stop memo issued against the crushing unit.
The petitioner had approached the Supreme Court after the Kerala High Court earlier set aside the stay order granted in its favour. The crusher unit had argued that it is located 1.6 km away from the notified ESZ area around the Choolanoor Peacock Sanctuary, and hence should not fall within the restrictions imposed for ESZ.
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"After arguing for some time, learned senior advocate Sri S.P. Chaly submitted that they wish to withdraw the special leave petition with liberty to raise all arguments before the High Court, including the fact that stone breaking activity is not a prohibited activity and in any event the location of the petitioner's unit is outside the notified area," - Supreme Court order dated June 27, 2025
The Court accepted this argument and granted liberty to raise all such arguments in the writ appeal pending before the High Court.
Senior advocate S.P. Chaly, appearing for the petitioner, highlighted that no final notification declaring Choolanoor Peacock Sanctuary as a wildlife sanctuary has been issued yet. He stressed that the unit only carries out crushing operations using material received from outside and is not engaged in mining or quarrying within the ESZ.
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"It is only a crushing unit which brings metals from outside. And only crushing is done,"- Senior advocate S.P. Chaly
Senior advocate K. Parameshwara assisted the court as amicus curiae, as the issue pertains to the broader forest and wildlife conservation norms governed by the Godavarman Thirumalpad case, under which the Supreme Court has issued several binding guidelines.
In its earlier order of May 2025, the Kerala High Court division bench had vacated the interim stay granted earlier and directed the authorities to stop the operations of the crusher unit.
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This was based on the 2022 and 2023 judgments of the Supreme Court that:
“Any activity, which is prohibited by both the guidelines as well as the ESZ notification, shall be strictly prohibited.” — Kerala High Court, citing the Supreme Court’s statement in the Godavarman case
The High Court also considered the proposal to declare the Choolanoor area as a wildlife sanctuary (Nirbhaya Vana), thereby reinforcing the decision to prohibit the crusher’s operations – even though the unit was outside the notified ESZ.
The crusher unit now plans to raise the matter again before the High Court, focusing on the argument that crushing activities are not specifically prohibited, and their location is outside the restricted zone.
This development allows the Kerala High Court to evaluate the scope of the ESZ restrictions, specifically whether such zones apply to crushing units that are not directly involved in mining or quarrying operations.
Case Details : M/S ALANKAR GRANITES v THIRUVILWAMALA GRAMA PANCHAYAT AND ORS.| SLP(C) No. 16999/2025
