New Delhi, Dec 31, 2025: The Supreme Court, closed for Christmas and New Year holidays, held vacation benches during the winter break for the first time, with Chief Justice of India Surya Kant personally presiding over hearings to take up urgent cases involving life, liberty and immediate judicial intervention.
The top court remained closed from Dec. 22 to Jan. 2, 2026, and is scheduled to reopen on Jan. 5. Despite the closure, special sittings were arranged during the break, marking a departure from past practice when vacation benches were held only during the longer summer recess.
Justice Kant, who took oath as Chief Justice on Nov. 24, had announced on Dec. 19 that vacation benches, including one headed by him, would function during the winter break to hear urgent matters.
On the first day of the vacation, Dec. 22, a bench comprising the chief justice and Justice Joymalya Bagchi heard 17 urgent cases spanning criminal and civil matters.
A statement issued by the Supreme Court said the special sittings were organised “to ensure timely consideration of pressing cases that required immediate judicial intervention during the vacation period.”
On Dec. 29, a three-judge vacation bench led by the chief justice took up a suo motu case on the definition of the Aravalli hills following public concern. The bench kept in abeyance its Nov. 20 directions that had accepted a uniform definition of the hill range.
The court said there was a need to address “critical ambiguities,” including whether criteria such as a 100-metre elevation and a 500-metre gap between hills could remove large portions of the Aravallis from environmental protection.
