SC slams Defence Colony RWA for illegally occupying tom

The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned the silence of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in protecting a Lodhi-era monument in Delhi's Defence Colony, with a report prepared by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) disclosing a series of inactions by the body and the neighbourhood's resident welfare association (RWA) which used the 15th century "Gumti of Shaikh Ali" as its office.

- Abraham Thomas

A bench headed by justice Sudhanshu Dhulia said, "It seems the ASI has gone against its own mandate to protect ancient monuments. How can you allow such a thing to happen to a 700-year-old Lodhi-era tomb?" The court was hearing a petition filed by a Defence Colony resident Rajeev Suri seeking orders from the court to declare the structure a protected monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (AMASR Act). He approached the top court after the Delhi high court refused to allow his plea in February 2019.

CBI, which was brought into the picture by an order of the court this August, gave its report in a sealed cover detailing the circumstances under which the "Gumti" came to be occupied by the RWA as its office in the 1960s.

Since then, the RWA has made several alterations in the structure, including installing a false ceiling inside the monument.

It further recorded that in 2004, ASI issued a notification intending to declare the structure as a protected monument but dropped the plan in the face of objections from the RWA. In 2008, the proposal for declaring the structure a protected monument was dropped by the central government.

The RWA informed the court that they had "been there for decades", a submission that irked the bench.

"How dare you enter it? What kind of argument is this.

It cannot be allowed," said justice Dhulia.

"In open court we will direct to evict you if needed," he said.

The counsel then argued that if the RWA would not have occupied the building, "anti-social elements will take over".