Supreme Court declines to put on hold Rs 20,000 crore Central Vista Project in Delhi

The Supreme Court on Thursday (April 30) refused to stay the Central Vista project costing worht Rs 20,000 crore that plans to a new parliament and other central government offices in Delhi's iconic Lutyens' zone.

"A similar petition against the project is pending in court. During COVID-19 situation, nobody is going to do anything and there is no urgency," Chief Justice of India SA Bobde said during the hearing.

It is to be noted that a plea agaisnst the project has already been filed by petitioner Rajeev Suri and that petition is still pending. "A similar petition is pending and there's no need to duplicate it," the Chief Justice said, adding he can amend the petition.

In his plea, Suri had challenged land use for the Central Vista project claiming that the project seeks to cover 86 acre in Lutyens' zone which will ultimately end the open and green spaces in the area.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the government, said, "Parliament  is being constructed... Why should anyone have any objection?" The petition was heard by a two-judge bench of the Chief Justice of India and Justice Aniruddha Bose through video conferencing.

The apex court on Thursday also declined to pass any order and disposed off a petition filed by a lawyer, seeking appropriate directions to the Bar Council of India (BCI) to assist and help those lawyers facing financial crisis due to the nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus COVID-19 in India.

The SC also refused to interfere in a plea seeking for directions to Twitter to do away with communal hashtags trending on the social media platform.

“How can the court stop this? You are saying that people are saying wrong things on Twitter. That is like saying people are saying wrong things on phone. Can we direct MTNL then?” said CJI Bobde.

The petitioner submitted that he was not seeking to stop anything, but merely seeking direction for the Twitter to drop hashtags that can be inflammatory in nature.