SC slams MCD over office near 700-yr-old structure, orders to vacate in 48 hours

Hindustan Times

15-05-2025

The Supreme Court on Wednesday reprimanded the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for continuing to operate an office near a 700-year-old Lodhi-era monument in Defence Colony, despite earlier directions to vacate the area. The court granted the civic body 48 hours to clear the site 'lock, stock, and barrel'.
The monument in question—Gumti of Shaikh Ali—sits at the centre of a roundabout near the Defence Colony market. Earlier this year, the apex court had come down heavily on the Defence Colony Resident Welfare Association (RWA), ordering it to vacate the structure after decades of illegal occupation, and directed its restoration.
On Wednesday, the bench led by Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia expressed strong disapproval of MCD's claim that its office, located 'adjacent' to the monument, was 'strategically situated' to carry out emergency operations in South Delhi. 'What kind of MCD are you?' the bench asked. 'Do you not know that no construction is allowed within 200 metres of a heritage monument? If you continue in this place, we will haul your commissioner for contempt.'
Senior advocate Garima Parshad, representing MCD, argued that the restriction only applied to new constructions and not existing ones. Her argument was backed by the Delhi government's Land and Development Office (L&DO), which maintained the structure was 'safe' after the RWA's removal. The court, however, was unconvinced and ordered MCD to vacate the area entirely and hand over any keys to L&DO. The matter will be heard again on Friday to ensure compliance.
The dispute over the monument began in January when the court directed the Defence Colony RWA to vacate the structure and pay ₹40 lakh to the Delhi government's archaeology department as compensation for occupying it since the 1960s. The department was tasked with restoring the structure.
On Wednesday, the RWA informed the court that the compensation amount had been deposited. The archaeology department confirmed the same and told the court that the process to declare the monument as a protected site was underway.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appointed by the court to oversee compliance, informed the bench that MCD was not only operating an office near the monument but also using the surrounding area to dump construction debris. Trucks operated by the civic agency frequently used the space, he said. He also noted that a well-maintained park nearby remained locked and inaccessible to residents.
Refuting MCD's justification that it needed the space for emergency services, Sankaranarayanan said the civic body had other offices in close proximity. 'Can this building function as an office? Can you not identify any other place?' the court asked after examining photographs of the site.
The proceedings originated from a petition filed by Defence Colony resident Rajeev Suri, who sought to have the Gumti declared a protected monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (AMASR Act). Suri approached the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court dismissed his plea in February 2019.
The court had earlier involved the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to look into how the RWA came to occupy the structure in the 1960s. The CBI found no legal basis for the occupation. According to its report, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had issued a notification in 2004 to declare the structure protected, but dropped the plan after objections from the RWA.
CBI cited ASI records in which a superintending archaeologist had written to the director general, noting that the monument had undergone several alterations under the RWA's occupation, making it difficult to restore. In 2008, the central government officially abandoned the proposal to protect the structure.
Historical records back the monument's significance. The Gumti is mentioned in the Survey of Monuments of Delhi, conducted in the 1920s by Maulvi Zafar Hasan and published by ASI in 1926. It also features in a 1999 publication by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), which describes it as an octagonal tomb with pointed arches, a domed superstructure, and an inverted lotus atop the dome. Only one of the arches remains open, while the rest have been bricked up.