MARGAO: In a major relief to those agitating against the construction of an alleged illegal bungalow in the heritage precincts of Old Goa, the Supreme Court (SC) has issued notices to the respondents in a Special Leave Petition filed by the Save Old Goa Action Committee (SOGAC), which had challenged an order passed by the High Court (HC) of Bombay at Goa.
However, the Supreme Court, while issuing the notices, expressed concerns about how the HC had set aside the said matter prematurely instead of remitting the matter back to ASI for reconsideration.
“Having heard learned senior counsel for the petitioner and on perusal of the impugned order, we find that the High Court has found that principles of natural justice had been violated,” said the SC Bench comprising Justice B V Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan.
“In the circumstances, prima facie, we find that the matter ought to have been relegated to the Additional Director General, Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi for re-considering the matter, after giving reasonable opportunity to all sides of being heard and by following the principles of natural justice. Instead, the High Court has simply quashed notice(s) and concluded the proceedings, “the SC bench added.
It is pertinent to note that the HC had set aside an order passed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to demolish the under-construction bungalow, in the UNESCO heritage zone at Old Goa citing violation of natural justice principles.
It may be further recalled that on August 16, 2022, the ASI Director General had ordered the removal of the said bungalow under Section 19(2) of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958. The HC had set aside this order by ASI.
It may be recalled that before the ASI order in August 2022, which was then stayed by the High Court.
The developer Corvus Urban Infrastructure had also appealed before the High Court against the orders of the Village Ella, Se Old Goa, and the Town and Country Planning (TCP) with regard to the structure. The HC had then quashed these orders of the TCP Deputy Town Planner and the Old Goa Panchayat revoking the technical clearance and the construction licence of the structure on grounds that the party was not heard and the principle of natural justice being denied.
SOGAC and the other group of activists and members of the public who were upset with the numerous setbacks they were receiving in its attempts to get both the State and Central authorities to demolish the illegal structure had pinned their hopes on the SC and the ASI order, which was critical to the case.
There have been protests against the structure for the last couple of years and the manner in which permissions were granted on alleged fraudulent basis were repeatedly highlighted along with a plea for measures to be taken in the State to protect other heritage monuments as well. Even the Church had criticised the developments.