New Dehli : BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Thursday asked Supreme Court to consider urgently his plea for a direction for recognising Ram Sethu as an ancient monument of national heritage and importance by the Archaeological Survey of India.

Making a mention before a bench, presided over by Chief Justice S A Bobde, he said it has already been decided that the Ram Sethu would not be touched. It is now entitled to be recognised as an ancient monument of heritage. The Centre had so far not taken any decision in this regard.

The bench, which comprised Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna, asked the Centre to file a response to his plea. The court asked Swamy to approach it after three months.

The Union government had in March 2018 told the court that it would not damage the mythological ‘Ram Sethu’ for constructing Sethusamudram ship channel project in “the interest of the nation”.

“The government of India intends to explore an alternative to the earlier alignment of Sethusamudram ship channel project without affecting/damaging the Adam’s Bridge/Ram Sethu in the interest of the nation,” the Ministry of Shipping had said in a one-page affidavit.

The stand taken by the NDA government was contrary to earlier affidavits filed by the Centre on February 22 and September 11, 2013. The central government had then said given the advantages, the government intended to pursue the implementation of the project wherein the channel was to be dredged between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.

Changing its stand, the government said, “Considering the socio-economic disadvantages, the government of India does not want to implement to the said alignment.”

BJP leader Swamy had filed a PIL against the ship channel project and had sought a direction to the Centre that the mythological Ram Sethu be not touched.