Ram Setu: SC Seeks Centre’s Response to Swamy’s Plea
New Delhi
The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice on a plea by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, seeking directions to the Union government to consider his request to declare Ram Setu a monument of national importance. The bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta asked the Ministry of Culture, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and its Tamil Nadu Regional Director to respond.
Swamy’s petition urges the Centre to engage the Geological Survey of India and ASI for a detailed survey of Ram Setu, also known as Adam’s Bridge, to ensure its protection as a site of religious and historical significance. He claimed that despite a January 2023 Supreme Court order allowing him to submit additional material, the government has yet to act on his representation. Following a fresh request to the Union Minister of Culture in May, Swamy filed the Public Interest Litigation seeking a time-bound decision.
Senior advocate Vibha Datta Makhija, assisted by Satya Sabharwal, represented Swamy in court. Ram Setu is a chain of limestone shoals connecting Pamban or Rameswaram Island in Tamil Nadu to Mannar Island in Sri Lanka. According to Indian mythology, Lord Rama built the bridge with his allies to cross into Sri Lanka.
The site has been the focus of development plans, including the 2007 Sethusamudram project, which proposed an 83-km-long deep-water channel requiring dredging of the limestone shoals. After interim Supreme Court directions on Swamy’s petition, the government explored an alternative plan to link Mannar with the Palk Strait. The plea highlights the ongoing debate between development and heritage preservation.
