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Mauna Kea in Honolulu, Hawaii, is seen to be "the perfect site" for building a "Thirty Meter Telescope," according to astronomers from the California Institute of Technology and the University of California.

However, residents of the mountain are on a protest against the telescope, which they feel is violating their cultural importance.

Even the Hawaii State Supreme Court has revoked the construction permit. The telescope was planned to be erected on the tallest mountain in Honolulu.

The construction is a $1.4 billion "joint project" between the California Institute of Technology and the University of California. It also has partners from from China, India and Japan. However, the natives here do not want to permit it.

"Quite simply, the board put the cart before the horse when it issued the permit before the request for a contested case hearing was resolved and the hearing was held. Accordingly, the permit cannot stand," the court's 58-page opinion said, according to NBC News.

Astronomers have mounted telescopes in various parts of the world to arrive at discoveries, but they also feel that Mauna Kea is an important location. Hence, 13 telescopes on top of the mountain are major contributors in a number of discoveries.

"There is almost no major astronomical discovery where there was not very important input from the telescopes on Mauna Kea," said Guenther Hasinger, director of the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Hawaii, according to the Associated Press.

As the courts have supported the protesters the drivers of the telescope have agreed to "respect the decision."