It observed that there is no record of the money meant for the welfare of construction workers.
The petitioners, however, challenged the government's contention, saying this was an attempt to "overawe" the court
The bench also directed the Uttar Pradesh government to pay Rs five lakh to the lawyer, who is in a critical condition.
The apex court also said CBI officers probing the shelter home cases in Bihar shall not be transferred without its prior permission.
The Congress president had on April 10 claimed that the apex court has made it "clear" that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "committed a theft".
The apex court also said no coercive steps, including the arrest of the Kolkata Police chief, will take place during the course of investigation.
Besides Pratapgarh, incidents of rape and sexual abuse of women and girls at shelter homes run by NGOs have also surfaced recently in Muzaffarpur in Bihar and Deoria in Uttar Pradesh.
The apex court also said that "misplaced political propaganda has no place" and "such practices should be deprecated".
This assumes significance as a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra is currently hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar scheme and the enabling 2016 law.
A notice by the office of Supreme Court Secretary General also said that the report of the committee constituted as part of the in-house procedure is not liable to be made public.
The apex court also expressed concern over the historic monument being infected by insects and asked the authorities, including ASI, what steps they have taken to prevent this.
The court referred the NCRB data and said 38,947 women were raped in India in 2016. "What is to be done? Girls and women are getting raped left, right and centre," the bench said."
The apex court pulled up the authorities for not taking appropriate steps to preserve and protect the Taj.
Referring to the "mountains of garbage" at the three landfill sites -- Ghazipur, Okhla and Bhalswa-- the court said no action has been taken by authorities, including the office of the LG due to which Delhi was facing the serious problem.
The apex court also expressed anguish over the Uttar Pradesh government failure to come out with a vision document to preserve and protect the Taj Mahal.
'When the courts intervene, we are attacked for judicial activism'
The bench said it was necessary that question of 'judicial independence is accounted for in the balancing exercise' with RTI.
The apex court order comes as a relief for 12 lakh medical aspirants who had given the exam.
Pulling up the Himachal Pradesh government, the apex court told the state government to implement the law.
Factories, shops closed for four days; list of dead now 38.
The inquiry by will not deal with the allegations of sexual harassment against the CJI.
'Although India has a lot more to offer in terms of tourism other than the Taj, yet there is nothing compared to the Taj Mahal.'
The bench said it will take up the matter for hearing on Thursday.
The apex court set aside the order of the Kerala high court which had upheld the Central Administrative Tribunal's decision that had not found fault with the state government's decision to transfer Senkumar from the post of the state police chief.
The deceased was heading one team and hotel owners allegedly attempted to intimidate it to stop the demolition drive, officials said.
Second body blow after diesel ban on engines of 2,000 cc and above in NCR.
'These children are wards of the State. They were exploited because the state government and its officials didn't do their jobs.'
The bench said the law in question was only 'targetting' married women and not the men who can have relationships with unmarried women, widow and married women with the consent of their husbands.
There cannot be a 'blanket ban' on media reporting on cases of rape and sexual abuse, it said.
The apex court said the exception in the rape law was contrary to the philosophy of other statutes and violates the bodily integrity of a girl child.
Names of CMs of Punjab and Karnataka along with a former CM found mention in the list.
A young IT grad jailed for visa fraud committed by his agent, gives an insider's view of life in jail.
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