High Court Stays Bihar Government's Demolition Order Of Sultan Palace, Seeks Reply
NDTV
The Nitish Kumar government had mid-June announced that the state cabinet has given its nod to build three five-star hotels in Patna, including one on Beer Chand Patel Road where the palace is built.
The Patna High Court has sought a reply from the Bihar government on its decision to dismantle the historic Sultan Palace to build a five-star hotel, even as it stayed the proposed demolition of the iconic 100-year-old landmark in the heart of the city.
The stay on the demolition of the Palace, built in 1922 by barrister Sir Sultan Ahmed, was granted by the court during an online hearing on Friday on a PIL filed recently, according to lawyers of the petitioner.
The move has brought much-needed relief to heritage lovers and a large cross-section of the citizenry which had been demanding the authorities to roll back the decision, and instead restore and reuse the palace.
The public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by a young Patna-based lawyer and this was the first hearing in the case, said a member of a team of lawyers who appeared on behalf of him during the hearing.
