NEW DELHI, February 28: The Delhi High Court on Friday fixed March 12 as the date for the final hearing of the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the Government decision to rename Connaught Circus and Connaught Place after former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.A division bench comprising Justices Y K Sabharwal and M K Sharma on Friday fixed the date for final arguments on the petition filed by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). INTACH submitted that changes in the names of streets and roads, among other things, not only created confusion for post offices but also deprived the public of a sense of history.It said that the Union ministry had no jurisdiction or competence to rename Connaught Place and Connaught Circus after the Delhi Government had rejected the proposal. The renaming would alter the character of cultural and historical association with the place, the petition said.Central Government counsel Meera Bhatia submitted that the change ofthe name of a place did not largely affect the facilities and amenities available to the public nor did it affect the fundamental and legal rights of the citizens as enshrined in the Constitution.The renaming will not cause any loss to the character, fame, historical and cultural heritage of the area, she said. Instead, it was in the interest of the historical and cultural heritage of an independent country that an area or place be renamed after a nationally and internationally famed personality.
