New Delhi: Two lawyers Aldanish Rein and Ramesh Kumar Mishra have approached the Supreme Court against the cast of the national emblem atop the new Parliament building. Petitioners alleged that its design violates the State Emblem of India (Prohibition Against Improper Use) Act.
The plea states that the lions in the emblem appear to be "ferocious and aggressive" with their "mouth open and canine visible." The petition alleges that such a change is "manifestly arbitrary".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the national emblem cast on the roof of the new Parliament building on July 11.
Since the emblem was unveiled, many activists and Opposition members have accused the BJP-led government of distorting the national emblem by replacing the "graceful and regally confident" Ashoka lions.
The opposition called the new cast a "brazen insult to India's national symbol". The ruling government, however, claimed that it is a "perfect replica" of the original "except for the size". Sunil Deora, one of the sculptors, also claimed that the perceived difference in the lion's demeanour was because of the "scale and dimension" of the new emblem.
Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted: "Sense of proportion and perspective. Beauty is famously regarded as lying in the eyes of the beholder. So is the case with calm and anger. The original Sarnath Emblem is 1.6-metre high whereas the emblem on the top of the New Parliament building is huge at 6.5 metres"
The state emblem of India is an adaptation from the Sarnath Lion Capital of Emperor Ashoka, an ancient sculpture dating back to 280 BCE during the Maurya Empire. The three-dimensional emblem depicts four lions. The emblem of Ashoka is preserved in the Sarnath Museum.