A Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana has permitted Karnataka to auction and lease composite mining blocks that include parcels of 'virgin forest land,' as an 'operational rationalisation' allowing adjoining parcels to be planned and auctioned as a single mine — but strictly on condition the successful bidder cannot commence mining on the virgin-forest portion until forest-clearance approval is separately obtained.
The Court also permitted conditional sale of minerals from expired mining leases subject to safeguards, and listed the matter for further orders on 29 September 2026, keeping the broader environmental supervision it has exercised over Karnataka's mining sector for years firmly in place even as it relaxes the auction process itself.
The ruling lets mining companies bid for and financially commit to composite blocks containing forest land before forest clearance is secured, easing auction and project-planning timelines, while keeping environmental clearance intact as a strict precondition to actual mining activity — relevant to bidders, lenders and environmental counsel structuring mining-block acquisitions in and around forest areas.