Centre to file reply in SC on Ram Setu by first week of February

The Union government on Thursday told the Supreme Court that it would file its response to a plea by former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy for a direction to declare the Ram Setu a national heritage monument by February first week.

A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha took into record submission by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and told Swamy that the matter will be taken up for hearing in the second week of February.

Swamy said the Solicitor General had earlier made a commitment to file the reply by December 12.

He asked the court to summon the Cabinet Secretary, as "Earlier, they said the reply is ready".

Read | BJP govt at Centre should apologise for `misleading' people on Ram Setu: Bhupesh Baghel

Mehta, however, said that discussions are underway and the matter is under consideration.

In his plea, Swamy sought a direction to the Union government and the National Monument Authority to declare 'Ram Setu' as a monument of national importance.

He claimed the Centre has already accepted existence of 'Ram Setu' and a meeting was also convened in 2017 to consider his demand but nothing had happened afterwards.

Ram Setu, also known as Adam's Bridge, is a chain of limestone shoals between Pamban Island or Rameswaram Island, off the south-eastern coast of Tamil Nadu, and Mannar Island, off the north-western coast of Sri Lanka. It is believed to be the same bridge built by Lord Ram as mentioned in the 'Ramayan'.

In 2007, the UPA government had proposed a Sethusamudram project under which an 83-km-long deep water channel was to be made by extensive dredging and removal of the limestone shoals.

However, Swamy challenged the decision in the court. Subsequently, the Union government had to adopt an alternative plan to link Mannar with Palk Strait.

In reply to a query put by an Independent MP from Haryana, Kartikeya Sharma, in Rajya Sabha of scientific research on the structure, Union Minister Jitendra Singh had in December, 2022 said, "If it is said in simple words, it is difficult to say that the real form of Ram Setu is present there. However, there are some indications which suggest that the structure may be present there."