Bombay HC asks Maha to clear stand on Metro 3

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Monday granted the state time till Thursday to clear its stand on the petition challenging the metro 3 route passing under Atash Behrams (sacred Parsi temples) in the city.

On Monday, when the matter came up for hearing before the division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Riyaz Chagla, the state requested the judges for more time to clear its stand on the petition filed by five members of the Zoroastrian community against construction of the underground Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ metro corridor under two Atash Behrams.

To this, the court granted the state time till August 9 to clear its stand. The court asked the state to inform its stand to the petitioners by August 9, who, in turn, would inform metro authorities about the same. The court deferred hearing on a bunch of petitions till Monday.

Meanwhile, the court asked Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) to examine the impact of the ongoing metro 3 construction work on two fire temples at Kalbadevi. While appointing VJTI to examine the impact on these temples, the court also asked the technological institute to ensure that the experts who entered the premises of the Atash Behrams were practising Zoroastrians.