Overview

• A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice to the Union government and set a four‑week deadline, posting the case for hearing thereafter.
• Subramanian Swamy’s petition asks for a time‑bound decision under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act and requests surveys by the GSI and ASI.
• Swamy says he submitted detailed representations on January 27, 2023 and May 2025 but has received no decision from the government.
• The Supreme Court had earlier recorded Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s statement that the matter was under consideration in the Ministry of Culture.
• Any designation could influence the long‑stalled Sethusamudram canal plan stayed in 2007 over concerns for the limestone shoals, with experts widely describing Ram Setu as a natural formation even as many regard it as sacred.