The Supreme Court has upheld a Madras High Court order rejecting a petition to stop the demolition of the rear portion of the P. Orr and Sons building on Anna Salai here for the Chennai Metro Rail project.
A bench comprising Justice H.L. Dattu and Justice Anil R. Dave dismissed a special leave petition filed by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) against the High Court judgement of April 4.
However, the court reduced the cost imposed on INTACH by the High Court. “… in our opinion, the cost imposed by the High Court appears to be highly excessive, and therefore, the same is reduced from Rs 5 lakh to Rs. 50,000 to be deposited within four weeks' time from today,” the Bench said in its brief order passed on Thursday.
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The High Court had said it could not find fault with the authorities' decision to pull down a part of the building to pave the way for Metro Rail, as only the front portion was a Grade-I heritage building.