On January 16, the Supreme Court refused to hear a petition seeking the court's intervention to declare the subsidence-hit Joshimath crisis a national disaster. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala, who heard the case earlier in the day, directed the petitioner Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati to approach the Uttarakhand High Court. "We don't want anyone to use these proceedings only for sound bytes for social media", The Supreme Court stated. The petitioner claimed the subsidence was caused by large-scale industrialization and requested immediate financial assistance and compensation for those affected. "No development is needed at the cost of human life and their ecosystem and if any such thing is to happen, then it is the duty of the State and Union government to stop the same immediately at war level," The Seer's plea was stated.

Joshimath, the gateway to famous pilgrimage sites such as Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib, as well as the international skiing destination Auli, is facing a major challenge as a result of land subsidence.

Earlier on January 10, the Supreme Court denied an urgent hearing on the petition, stating that there are "democratically elected institutions" to deal with the situation and that all important matters should not be brought before it.

"Everything important does not have to come to us. There are democratically elected institutions that will investigate it. We plan to list it on January 16th" After the petitioner's counsel mentioned the plea and requested an urgent listing, the CJI stated.