Central Vista Construction: SC Refuses to Interfere, HC to Decide

The SC asked the Delhi HC to take a decision, asking it to consider hearing the plea early.

The Central Vista project.

(Image: Shruti Mathur/The Quint)

The Supreme Court has said that it will not interfere in the construction of the Central Vista project, saying that the matter was already pending with the Delhi High Court.

While announcing the order on a petition seeking to stall the construction activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a bench of Justices Vineet Saran and Dinesh Maheshwari, however, asked the petitioners to appeal to the Delhi HC for an early hearing.

The court also asked the Delhi HC to consider an early hearing.

“Since the matter is pending before the high court and the appeal is against order of adjournment, we are not inclined to enter into the merits of the case. In the given circumstances, we request Shri (Sidharth) Luthra or any other counsel to make request before the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court on Monday to take up the matter as urgently as possible", said the bench, reported Bar and Bench.

“We hope and trust that HC shall consider the prayer for early hearing.”

“We are facing a humanitarian health crisis. If this project is deferred by 4 to 6 weeks nothing will happen. We suspended IPL. We have a situation where the spread of COVID is unprecedented,” Bar and Bench quoted Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra, who appeared for petitioners Anya Malhotra, a translator, and Sohail Hashmi, a historian and documentary film-maker.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Union government, said that the petitioners coming to court by way of a PIL and filing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) against an adjournment order of the Delhi HC raises serious doubt.

The petitioners had initially filed the plea at the Delhi High Court. On Tuesday, 3 May, the HC said that it would hear the plea on 17 May after hearing the SC's 5 January judgment on the same.