The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Defence Colony Welfare Association to explain how much costs should be imposed on it for the unauthorised occupation of Lodhi-era monument "Gumti of Shaikh Ali" for over six decades.
A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah directed the association to file an affidavit within three weeks while censuring its "illegal" occupation of the 700-year-old Lodhi-era tomb in Delhi.
It also pulled up the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) for its failure to protect the monument.
The bench directed Delhi's archaeology department to constitute a committee for the restoration of the monument.
The court was informed that the possession of "Gumti of Shaikh Ali" was handed over to the Land And Development Office from DCWA in presence of senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who was appointed as the court commissioner.
The bench previously directed for a "peaceful" handover of the site's possession to the Land And Development Office.
The bench had passed the order after perusing a report filed by Swapna Liddle, who is ex-convener of the Delhi chapter of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage.
The court had appointed Liddle to survey and inspect the building and ascertain the damage caused to the monument and the extent of its restoration.
The bench in November 2024, pulled up the ASI for failing to protect the monument in Defence Colony with the CBI flagging a resident welfare association was using the 15th century structure as its office.
Fuming over the inaction on the part of the ASI for having allowed the resident association to occupy the structure since the 1960s, the bench said, "What kind of authority are you (ASI)? What is your mandate? You have gone back from your mandate of protecting the ancient structures. We are perturbed by your inaction." It pulled up the neighbourhood RWA, which occupied tomb in 1960s, and for justifying its occupation by saying anti-social elements would have damaged it.
Justice Amanullah however expressed his displeasure over the RWA's conduct and its justification.
The top court was hearing a petition filed by one Rajiv Suri, a resident of Defence Colony, seeking court's directions to declare the structure as a protected monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains Act of 1958.
He challenged the 2019 Delhi High Court order which refused to pass the directions.
The top court earlier this year asked the CBI to probe into the circumstances under which the structure came to be occupied by the RWA as its office and submit a report.
The probe agency informed the bench there were several alterations made in the structure by the RWA, including a false ceiling.
The top court was also informed that in 2004, the ASI started the process of declaring the tomb as a protected monument but dragged its feet upon objection from the residents' body.
It was also informed that in 2008, the Centre dropped the plan of declaring it as a protected structure.
Suri's plea referred to several historical records and said the structure found a mention in a survey of Delhi monuments conducted in 1920 by Maulvi Zafar Hasan, a British era archaeologist.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
