Arguing that a court direction could not be issued to declare a particular structure as a national monument “since the decision rests entirely with the Centre”, Nariman justified his previous submission that Lord Rama himself broke the bridge, citing scriptures and ancient literature.

He took a dig at the people objecting to the project, including Dr Swamy and AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa — both have filed petitions in the SC. “When 850 people came for public hearings in 2004, these people never said it was a matter of faith,” he added.

However, referring to Jayalalithaa’s remarks that it is a matter of sentiment, Nariman said, “Yes, we are sorry if we hurt your sentiments and will try not to hurt these again.”