No new construction, renovation works in Mehrauli Archaeological Park: Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed any new construction or renovation at the centuries-old religious structures inside the Mehrauli Archaeological Park in the capital including the 13th Century Ashiq Allah Dargah and Chillagah of Baba Farid, the revered Sufi saint.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar was hearing a plea filed by one Zameer Ahmed Jumlana seeking protection of the religious structures inside the archaeological park from demolition.

Senior advocate Nidhesh Gupta referred to the Archeological Survey of India's (ASI) status report and said a historical monument found there was built around 700 years ago.

The CJI said “people keep encroaching and putting up shops to earn money” while asking the ASI to prepare a site plan to ensure no further encroachment.

Additional solicitor general K M Nataraj said, “Let us find out which are built newly and which are old." A lawyer said these monuments were not declared protected ones and, therefore, there was no problem if they were renovated.

The bench said for the renovation, permission under the existing laws would be needed.

“The ASI has submitted an interim status report. The original structure as it existed has to be ascertained and verified. List on April 28. The ASI will have to submit further status reports and the parties can file their objections/submissions. There shall not be any construction at the existing site,” it said.

The ASI previously said two structures inside the archaeological park bore religious significance as Muslim devotees paid daily visits to the Ashiq Allah Dargah and Chillagah of Sufi saint Baba Farid.

An inscription, the ASI said, on the tomb of Shaikh Shahibuddin (Ashiq Allah) says it was constructed in the year 1317 AD.

"The structural modifications and alterations for the sake of restoration and conservation have impacted the historicity of the place," it added.

The ASI submitted the tomb was close to the citadel of Prithviraj Chauhan and fell within the regulated zone of 200 metre according to the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act.

Any repair, renovation or construction work required a prior permission of the competent authority, it added.

"Both structures are frequently visited. Devotees light lamps at the Ashiq Dargah for fulfilment of wishes. They visit Chillagah to get rid of evil spirits and bad omen. The place is also associated with the religious sentiment and faith of a particular religious community," the ASI report said.

Jumlana, in his plea, said the Delhi Development Authority had planned the demolition of the structures in the name of removing encroachments without assessing their historical significance.

He has moved the top court against a February 8 Delhi High Court order which said Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena-led religious committee could consider the matter.

Jumlana contended the committee was not an appropriate forum to decide the antiquity of a structure.