The Rajya Sabha MP Dr Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday mentioned plea seeking National Heritage Status for Ram Setu before the Supreme Court for early listing.
The matter was put before the Bench of Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, who said that after due consultation from the other concern members ,the call shall be taken to list the matter next.
Justices DY Chandrachud said that”I will discuss it with my Ld brother and see when we can list it.”
Earlier today, Swamy had approached the CJI Bench amd Justice N.V. Ramana for early listing, and he was told to mention it before Justice Chandrachud.
Ram Setu, is a bridge which is a chain of limestone shoals, off the south-eastern coast of Tamil Nadu. It runs from Pamban Island near Rameshwaram in South India to Mannar Island, off the northern coast of Sri Lanka.
The significance of bridge dates in history as it finds mention in the epic Ramayana having been constructed by Lord Ram to reach Sri Lanka to rescue Sita.
In January 2020, the Supreme Court observed that Swamy’s Ram Sethu plea, should be considered but had asked him to mention it after three months owing to the pendency of cases before it.
Since then, the matter was mentioned a number of times, the last being on 13th July, when the Bench led by CJI Ramana had agreed to list it on 26.07.2022.
Dr.Swamy told the Apex Court that a meeting was called in this regard by the Union ministers in 2017 but nothing had happened after that.
Dr. Swamy raised the issue of declaring Ram Setu as a National Heritage monument in his plea filed in 2007 against Sethusamudram Ship Channel project for the protection of Ram Setu and a stay was granted by the Apex Court on the project’s work over Ram Sethu.
The Sethusamudram project talked of an 83-km-long deep water channel to be created which would link Mannar with Palk Strait, by extensive dredging and removal of the limestone shoals which constitute the mythological Sethu.