Chandigarh, May 29 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld an order of the Punjab and Haryana high court directing the Chandigarh administration to construct a verandah in front of the chief justice's court, saying it would not violate the UNESCO guidelines. The apex court order came on the petition filed by the Union territory administration that said the construction of verandah without UNESCO's nod could result in the loss of World Heritage status of Chandigarh Capitol Complex, which included the assembly, the high court and the secretariat designed by celebrated architect Le Corbusier, who planned the entire city of Chandigarh. The UT administration had moved apex court after an order in this regard by the bench of chief justice in November 2024. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, said, ".we are of the view that the decision of the high court in directing construction of the 'verandah' in front of court room no. 1 in alignment with the design of the pre-existing 'verandahs' in front of court room nos. 2 to 9 is absolutely justified and would not violate the UNESCO guidelines," the bench said. "At the same time, if so required, the administration would not be precluded from seeking ex-post facto approval for this minimal protective measure which is considered necessary without admitting any exception," it added. The court also allowed laying of green paver blocks in open parking area in front of the high court building, which UT was opposing, arguing that it was a notified green belt area. Order in this regard was also passed by the chief justice. "It cannot be gainsaid that the requirement of a proper parking space for the lawyers and the litigants is imperative because the pre-existing facility in the high court has fallen woefully short," it said, adding that the parking space was meant to cater to 600 four-wheelers but reportedly, 3,000 to 4,000 four-wheelers access the high court campus on any given working day and the number was bound to rise with the passage of time. The bench also said the contempt proceedings initiated by the high court in the matter concerning construction of verandah shall be kept in abeyance for a period of 12 weeks so as to enable the Chandigarh administration to comply with the order. Currently, the verandah exists only in front of the court building from numbers 2 to number 9. The need to construct roughly 5-metre verandah at the frontal facade of the chief justice's court has been left unmet for a long time even as the open space outside the court inconveniences visitors, especially during rain. Construction at a heritage site is prohibited without approval from the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. The committee has already stalled three ambitious projects at the Capitol Complex including the underground multi-level parking lot, high court's holistic development plan and an AC chiller plant. "...We find that none of the documents placed on record by the appellant (Chandigarh administration) give any indication to the effect that till date, any communication has actually been made either with the Foundation Le Corbusier, Paris or the World Heritage Committee, UNESCO, seeking permission to raise construction of the 'verandah' in front of the main court room i.e., court room no. 1," the apex court noted. The bench said modern architectural techniques have progressed by leaps and bounds and new construction materials and techniques were available which could be employed to construct the verandah exactly identical to the one existing in front of court room numbers two to nine without disturbing the aesthetic value of the main structure. The high court order had come during hearing a 2023 public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Vinod Dhaterwal, an office-bearer of the high court employees' association, demanding infrastructure development at the HC complex in the wake of increasing traffic congestion, space crunch and implementation of the holistic development plan. The order regarding laying of paver blocks had also come in these proceedings....