Pay Rs 40 lakh compensation for illegal occupation of Lodhi-era monument: Supreme Court to RWA

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed the Defence Colony Resident Welfare Association to pay Rs 40 lakh as compensation 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 refused to waive off the cost and posted the matter for hearing on April 8.

"We think it will be appropriate if compensation of Rs 40 lakh is paid by the Resident Welfare Association (RWA) to the department of archaeology, Delhi govt, entrusted with the task of conservation and restoration of the monument," the bench said.

The top court had earlier asked the RWA to explain how much costs should be imposed on it for the unauthorised occupation of the monument.

The bench had directed Delhi's archaeology department to constitute a committee for the restoration of the monument.

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 the 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 that a RWA 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 RWA, which occupied the tomb in 1960s, and for justifying its occupation by saying anti-social elements would have damaged it.

Justice Amanullah 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 the 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.