Subramanian Swamy Moves Supreme Court For Time-Bound Decision On Ram Setu Monument Status

The petition follows a previous order dated January 19, 2023, passed by a Bench of the Supreme Court in I.A. No. 88228/2019 in Transferred Case (Civil) No. 27 of 2007, wherein the Court had recorded the Solicitor General’s assurance that the matter was under consideration by the Ministry.

The Court had also granted liberty to Dr. Swamy to submit additional material and had observed that the Court be apprised of the decision taken by the Government.

However, Dr. Swamy now contends that no response or update has been furnished either to him or the Court since then, prompting the present Public Interest Litigation.

"It is also important to note that this archeological site is a matter of faith and shradha of people treating Ram-Setu as a pilgrimage and all these archaeological studies and scientific findings are foundational evidence supplementing the existence of the man-made monument as a pilgrimage for worshipers," the plea states. 

The petition filed through AoR Satya Sabharwal and Advocate Palak Bishnoi recalls that the matter originated in 2007 when Writ Petitions No. 18223-24 of 2007 filed before the Madras High Court were transferred to the Supreme Court and numbered as T.C. (C) Nos. 26-27 of 2007.

At that time, the Petitioner had sought a mandamus to restrain the destruction or demolition of Ram Setu for the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project.

The Court had passed interim orders in August and September 2007, directing that no damage be caused to Ram Setu during dredging operations.

A counter affidavit filed by the Union in 2007 was later withdrawn, and no fresh affidavit has been filed since then, Dr. Swamy submits.

In the 2019 interlocutory application, Dr. Swamy had sought directions to declare Ram Setu a national monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, and to conduct a detailed survey through the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and Geological Survey of India (GSI).

He also invokes Section 16 of the Act, arguing that the Centre is duty-bound to protect the site from pollution, desecration or misuse, especially as it holds immense religious and cultural significance for Hindus, who regard it as a pilgrimage site linked to Lord Ram.

Despite his representations dated January 27, 2023, and May 13, 2025, Dr. Swamy asserts that the Government has not communicated any decision, thus warranting judicial intervention to enforce the Supreme Court’s 2023 directive.

The Writ Petition prays for directions to the Ministry of Culture to take a decision on the representations within a fixed timeline.