> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://newsanek.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Supreme Court Seeks Replies on Oil India Drilling Plea in Assam - URL: https://newsanek.com/supreme-court-oil-india-drilling-plea-assam/ - Published: 2026-11-03T15:54:22.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T15:54:22.000Z - Description: The Supreme Court has asked the Centre and Assam to respond to Oil India's plea to drill beneath Dibru-Saikhowa National Park using Extended Reach Drilling. - Author: Kumar Ujjwal - Tags: India, Assam, #state-assam, #starter The Supreme Court on November 3 asked the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Assam government to respond to a plea by Oil India. The company is challenging the rejection of its proposal to extract hydrocarbons beneath Assam's Dibru-Saikhowa National Park using Extended Reach Drilling, according to the news agency Press Trust of India, as reported by India Today. ### Key points - The Supreme Court sought replies from the petroleum ministry and the Assam government on Oil India's plea. - Oil India says the drilling equipment would stay outside the national park and reach deposits about 3,500 to 4,000 metres deep. - The company is challenging the refusal to approve 0.069 hectares of forest land in Tinsukia district. - The matter will next be heard after November 17. ## What Oil India has argued Oil India has said the drilling infrastructure would be located outside the park. The public sector company has challenged the refusal to allow the use of 0.069 hectares of forest land for the project in Tinsukia district. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the company, told the bench that the matter was extremely urgent because Oil India could not carry out exploration work in the area. He said the area near the national park is estimated to hold three per cent of India's total hydrocarbon reserves. According to him, Extended Reach Drilling would be done at a depth of more than 4,000 metres and would not harm the park's flora and fauna. In its fresh plea, the company has challenged the decision of the Forest Advisory Committee and the later action of the environment ministry refusing approval. It said the authorities wrongly applied the Supreme Court's April 26, 2023 judgment, which prohibits mining within national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and within one kilometre of their boundaries. Oil India says hydrocarbon exploration and production through Extended Reach Drilling cannot be treated as conventional mining. ## What the court said The bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said it could allow the exploration work based on research and development reports from the authorities, including the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The case follows an earlier hearing on September 2, when the bench allowed Oil India to withdraw an interim application and file a fresh petition. That application had been filed in the long-pending 1995 case TN Godavarman Thirumulpad vs Union of India, which has shaped forest conservation and environmental law in India. The Chief Justice had said a new petition could be filed if there was a fresh cause of action. Dwivedi had earlier argued that all permissions had been granted, but the government considered itself bound by the 2023 order banning mining. He said the project was not mining, as the pipeline would be laid outside the park, go about 4,000 metres underground and then run horizontally. He also described the project as important for the country's energy needs. ## Why it matters and what next The case tests whether deep directional extraction of oil and gas counts as prohibited mining near protected areas. The answer could affect how energy projects close to national parks are treated, while balancing conservation with energy requirements. The court will hear the matter again after November 17, once the Centre and the Assam government have filed their responses. --- ### Source - [India Today: Supreme Court seeks replies on Oil India drilling plea in Assam](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/law-news/story/oil-india-drilling-plea-supreme-court-seeks-centre-assam-responses-ptag-3031316-2026-11-03?ref=newsanek.com)