Supreme Court on Monday dismissed two PILs seeking preservation of ancient relief and artefacts recovered during excavation and leveling of land at Ramjanmbhoomi in Ayodhya for construction of Ram Temple. The top court has also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on the two petitioners.
The three-Judge bench comprising of Justices Arun Mishra, B.R. Gavai, and KrishanMurari said that a five-judge bench has already given its verdict in November and the petition attempts to overreach the historic judgment. The bench also questioned the maintainability of the writ petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution of India. They set aside the PIL stating it is frivolous in nature and warns a CBI probe against petitioners.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing on behalf of the Central Government urged the court to impose fines on the petitioners. Thereby, the bench imposed a cost of 1 lakh each on both the petitioners to be paid within one month.
A petition filed by Satish Chindhuji Shambharkar and Dr. Ambedkar Foundation seeking preservation of artefacts recovered from the disputed site during the court-monitored excavation done during the hearing of the contentious issue at Allahabad high court.
They have also sought to preserve the artefacts which would be recovered after digging the foundation for the new Ram temple at Ayodhya and It should be carried out under the supervision of ASI, who is a competent authority for protection and conservation of ancient sites.
They relied on the media reports which stated that the artefacts were left in the site without any protection and not handed over to the government or ASI. The petitioners also expressed that they should be protected and scientific research to be conducted to trace the origin of the artefacts.
This News has been written and submitted by Ms. Agrima during her course of internship at B&B Associates LLP. Ms. Agrima is a third-year law student at Hidayatullah National Law University, Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
