HC restrained from hearing plea against Maya project

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday restrained the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court from hearing a bunch of lawsuits opposing construction of any building in the city's sprawling Ambedkar Park as planned by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati.

A bench of Justice H.K. Sema and Justice Markandey Katju stayed the high court proceedings while admitting the Uttar Pradesh government's petition seeking transfer of the lawsuits from the high court to the apex court.

The bench also issued notices to the petitioner, Gomati Nagar Jan Kalyan Mahasamiti that had moved the high court against the ongoing construction of two memorial buildings.

The organisation had moved the high court opposing the construction of the Kanshi Ram Research Institute, named after the late founder of the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), besides the construction of a memorial to Rama Bai, the wife of B.R. Ambedkar.

The bench also did not issue notice to Mayawati on a separate lawsuit by Gomati Nagar Jan Kalyan Mahasamiti for launching contempt-of-court proceedings against her for violating an earlier order of the apex court.

The court said that "the orders passed by the judiciary on the subject falling under the domain of legislature and executive should be ignored and should be treated in nullity" and courts should not exceed their "limits".

A bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan had on April 8 allowed the state government to only spruce up the existing Ambedkar statue in the park ahead of the birth anniversary of Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian constitution, on April 14.

The bench, however, had restrained the government form erecting any permanent structure in the park.

But the state government, ignoring the apex court's order, continued with building permanent concrete structures in the park, said senior counsel K T S. Tulsi, seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against Mayawati.

Though the bench at one stage appeared inclined to issue notices to Mayawati on the plea for launching contempt proceedings against her, the bench kept the plea pending for an elaborate hearing later.

The bench restrained the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court from hearing the lawsuit against the construction in Ambedkar Park, observing that the government was empowered to change the category of a land for construction activities.