SC declines to consider plea against 'ferocious, aggressive' lions at new Parliament building

The court rejected the petitioners' claim that the design was in violation of rules

The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a plea claiming that the lion emblem installed at the new Parliament building appeared to be "ferocious and aggressive with their mouth open and canine visible".

"The impression depends on the mind of the person," a bench of Justices M R Shah and Krishna Murari said, dismissing a PIL filed by two lawyers Aldanish Rein and Ramesh Kumar Mishra.

The court rejected the petitioners' claim that the design was in violation of the design of the national emblem approved under the State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act, 2005.

The petitioners contended that there cannot be artistic innovation over and above the approved design of national emblem. They also claimed that the logo of "Satyameva Jayate" is not there on the statue.

The bench, however, said the design would not be decided by the petitioners.

"Having heard the petitioner party-in-person and gone through the emblem of which the grievance is made, it cannot be said that the same is in anyway contrary to the provisions of the Act. It cannot be said that any of the provisions of Act 2005 are violated," the bench said.

"The state emblem of India installed on central vista project, New Delhi cannot be said to be in violation of the Act 2005 at the least," the bench added in its order.

The plea asked the court to issue a direction to the central government to correct the state emblem of India, recently installed at the top of the Centra Vista project at New Delhi.

It claimed that the Sarnath lion capital of Asoka was adopted as the state emblem of India due to its philosophical and spiritual meaning and the design ought not have been altered unmindfully and illegally.