The Supreme Court on Friday upheld an order for the demolition of a Pracheen Shiv Mandir situated at Geeta Colony close to the Yamuna floodplains.
A vacation bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice Augustine George Masih refused to interfere with the Delhi High Court order.
"Where is the proof of Pracheen Temple to begin with? Ancient temples were built with rocks and not with cement and painted," the bench said.
The high court on May 29 said Lord Shiva does not need anyone's protection as it refused to make the deity a party to a petition relating to the removal of a temple constructed in an unauthorised way on the Yamuna riverbed.
Lord Shiva would be happier if the Yamuna riverbed and floodplains were cleared of all encroachments and unauthorised construction, the high court had said while refusing to set aside an order for demolition of the Pracheen Shiv Mandir situated at Geeta Colony close to the floodplains.
The petitioner, Pracheen Shiv Mandir Avam Akhada Samiti, had claimed that the temple acts as a hub of spiritual activities, drawing around 300 to 400 devotees regularly. In the plea, it was claimed the society was registered in 2018 to uphold transparency, accountability and responsible management of the temple's assets.
The high court had said the land in dispute is meant for larger public interest and the petitioner society cannot claim any vested rights to continue to occupy and use it. The court had said the land falls under the Zonal Development Plan for Zone-'O' as approved by the Ministry of Urban Development.
The high court had said the petitioner society has miserably failed to show any documents with regard to its title, right or interest over the land and there is no proof of the temple having any historical significance.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
Elon Musk Faces Backlash After 'No Limit' Interview With Trump
Supreme Court Creates History, Gives Senior Advocate Tag To Manipur Lawyer "Will Suspend All Freebies Unless...": Supreme Court's Warning To Maharashtra Another Setback To Byju Raveendran, Supreme Court Revives Insolvency Proceedings Vandalism At Kolkata Hospital Where Doctor Was Raped, Tear Gas Fired 150 mg Semen In Kolkata Doctor's Body, Suspect Gang-Rape: Parents To Court Starbucks' Indian-Origin CEO, Recently Fired, Never Worked Past 6 pm Independence Day 2024 Live Updates: PM Modi To Address Nation From Red Fort PM Modi To Address Nation From Red Fort On 78th Independence Day Today Delhi Airport Becomes 1st To Achieve Net Zero Carbon Emission Status Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.