Mumbai, Apr 30 (Mumbai Mirror): Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had every reason to feel elated at the Bombay High Court on Friday. In 2011, Ramesh, the then Union Environment Minister, had recommended demolition of the Adarsh Housing Society for flouting Coastal Regulation Zone rules.

Ramesh in his order had said that the "unauthorised structure" should be removed and the area restored to its original condition within three months.

On Friday, Ramesh said he was "satisfied" with the court order. "My recommendations are in public domain. Many of my decisions were challenged in the court... Vedanta was challenged, but the Supreme Court upheld it, now Adarsh..." he said, but chose to remain silent on the allegations against his party colleagues.

There was an awkward moment for the Congress leaders soon after the verdict was announced, when former Member of Parliament Milind Deora tweeted, "Adarsh verdict sends a strong message to bureaucrats & all political parties: the days of profiting from government land are long gone."

The Congress spokesperson, Sachin Sawant, was quick to retort that his party had "nothing to do with the scam". "The Congress party and our leaders have nothing to do with the demolishing of the building. The matter is between the petitioners and the high court. As far as our leaders are concerned, we will fight the legal battle to prove we have not been involved in any wrongdoings," Sawant said.

The BJP and Shiv Sena targeted Ashok Chavan while terming the HC order as "historic". "This is the first time the court has ordered the demolition of the building, almost 30 years after 'Pratibha' (a housing society off Warden Road) was demolished. This is a heavy blow to corrupt politicians and bureaucrats. Now Ashok Chavan will have to face and answer more tough questions as he had given the required sanctions to construct the (housing) society," BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said.