SC to hear petitions against the Ram Setu Project

SAVING SETU: Janata Party president Dr Swamy had filed a petition that the project would destroy the Setu.

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• Find out if Ram Setu is a monument, SC orders
• Centre to play safe in its affidavit on Ram Setu
• Centre plays balancing act in new Ram Setu affidavit
• Karat blames UPA, wants N-deal draft made public
• A floor test must for UPA: Constitutional expert

Keywords: Ram Setu, Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear a number of petitions challenging the implementation of the Sethusamudram Project on the ground that implementing the project would damage the Ramar Setu.

The court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing due to some confusion over the order on the hearing date, which mistakenly showed May 1.

A three-Judge Bench comprising Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan, Justice RV Raveendran and Justice JM Panchal agreed to hear the petitions on Thursday.

Earlier the apex court had on August 31, 2007 passed an interim order restraining the Centre from going ahead with the project, after Janata Party president Dr Subramanian Swamy had filed a petition saying the project would destroy the Setu.

Counsels appearing for the Centre, Fali Nariman and Additional Solicitor General R Mohan are seeking a court direction to vacate the interim order as Centre wants that the earlier order be modified and the project allowed to go on.

Senior counsel K K Venugopal pointed out that the petitions had been listed for final disposal and hence the entire matter should be taken up for hearing.

"This is a matter which affects 800 million people's faith. People believe that the Ramar Setu is something which is built by the Gods. If the project is allowed to be continued and the Ramar Sethu is destroyed, the petitions would become infructuous,” he said.

Dr Swamy submitted that the Centre had admitted that the Ramar Setu was a place of worship and it was going to construct a gallery to enable people to offer worship.

He also said he had filed two applications, one to implead Union Shipping Minister T R Baalu and another seeking a direction to invalidate the project.