The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Allahabad high court to set up an appropriate bench to adjudicate a batch of writ petitions challenging the Constitutional validity of Mayawati government’s decision to construct memorials and statues of Dalit icons at a cost of Rs2,600 crore.
The bench must complete the proceedings within four months, the apex court decreed, while rejecting Mayawati government’s plea seeking transfer of the cases related to construction of the statues pending before HC to the apex court.
Judges also dropped contempt proceedings against state’s chief secretary, who was charged of defying a court order against further construction of the sites.
A bench of justices Harjit Singh Bedi and AK Patnaik also allowed minor cleaning and maintenance work at Kanshi Ram Smarak Sthal, Ramabai Ambedkar Maidan and Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Sthal sites in Lucknow.
The government is not allowed to start constructions there; it can only remove the hutments of the labour, dried grass and samplings and repair the leaking water pipe lines.
The bench vacated the order passed by a bench of justices HK Sema and Markandey Katju on April 21, 2008, that allowed the Mayawati government to continue with the construction of the statues.
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