The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to adjourn the hearing on the Sethusamudram project on the ground that the government was seeking a trust vote in the Parliament.
"How are we concerned with the trust motion? This court is only concerned with judicial matters," a bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said while declining the plea of a petitioner, which has asked the court to wait for the outcome of the trust motion and defer the hearing for three weeks.
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"So many things are happening in this country but we are only concerned with this case," the bench, also comprising Justice R V Raveendran and J M Panchal, said.
Senior advocates K K Venugopal, C S Vaidyanathan and M N Krishnamani, who are appearing for those opposing the project, reminded the court about its last order asking the Centre to explore the possibility of declaring the Ram Sethu as a historical monument.
They wanted the court to wait for the government's stand on the issue before going ahead with the arguments.
They were of the view that if there was a positive response from the government, there could be a 'full stop' to the matter.
Meanwhile, the Centre said it would put forward its stand only when its turn will come for the arguments.
After this, the court commenced the hearing in the matter that had been adjourned before the summer vacation.
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