On January 12, Rajya Sabha MP Dr. Subramanian Swamy urged the Supreme Court to summon the Union Cabinet Secretary because the Union Government had not filed its counter-affidavit in his petition for Ram Setu to be designated as a national heritage site. A bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, however, denied his request and granted the Centre until the first week of February 2023 to file its affidavit.

The Ram Setu case (also listed before a division bench led by the CJI) was not to be heard today since the CJI is leading a Constitution Bench. Dr. Swamy thus brought the matter before a bench comprised of CJI Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha to remind the Centre that it has yet to file its counter-affidavit. Swamy raised the issue of declaring the Ram Setu as National Heritage in his 2007 petition opposing the Sethu Samundram Ship Channel project.

The Setu Samundram project called for extensive dredging to create an 83-kilometer-long channel connecting Mannar and Palk Strait. The Ram Setu was said to be impacted by the project. Ram Setu is a bridge that spans a chain of limestone shoals off Tamil Nadu's south-eastern coast. It stretches from Pamban Island near Rameshwaram in South India to Mannar Island off Sri Lanka's northern coast. The epic Ramayana mentions Lord Ram building the bridge in order to reach Sri Lanka and rescue Sita.

Case Title: Dr. Subramanian Swamy v. Union of India And Ors .
Citation: T.C.(C) No. 27/2007