Plea filed before Supreme Court to prevent DDA from demolishing historical monuments in Delhi's Mehrauli

A petition has been filed before the Supreme Court to prevent the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) from demolishing historical monuments and graves of Sufi saints in Delhi's Mehrauli [Zameer Ahmed Jumlana vs Delhi Development Authority and ors]..The plea was filed in the backdrop of recent demolitions of the Akhunji Masjid, the Haji Rozbih Dargah and some 12th-century graves which were carried out by the DDA.The plea has challenged a February 8 Delhi High Court order that had refused to direct the DDA to refrain from demolishing the 13th Century Ashiq Allah Dargah and Chillagah of Baba Farid.The Ashiq Allah Dargah is a revered living dargah and historical monument constructed by Sultan Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah Khilji in 1317 to honor Sheikh Shahabuddin (who was popularly known as Ashiq Allah.Baba Farid was a revered Sufi saint who used the structure at Mehrauli for meditation."The impugned order fails to protect religious and non-religious structures—admittedly more than 800 years old--which constitute heritage deserving protection and which cannot be left at the whims of the Respondents who threaten their demolition, by treating the same as encroachment ... even the National Monument Authority has acknowledged the historical significance of the Ashiq Allah Dargah in its listing," the plea before the top court said.The matter was listed before a top court bench of Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan on Tuesday but not taken up..It is the petitioner's case that historical structures in forest areas cannot be treated as encroachments."In India, the presence of temples, dargahs, masjids, graves, or samadhi sthals within forest areas stems from the historical residence of ascetics in remote locales. Consequently, the existence of such religious or cultural sites within forested regions does not warrant their removal," the petition said. The High Court ought to have protected the structures and directed its restoration or eviction. Instead it was concerned with blue, green and brown tiles on the structure, the plea pointed out. As per the petitioner, the tiles are nothing but a poor attempt at restoration and must have been attempted by the keepers of the dargah in good faith as per their understanding. "However, bad tiling over a 14th century structure would not make it amenable to demolition by treating as encroachment. In law, the demolition is distinct from eviction of unauthorised person," it was contended.On DDA's recent demolitions of the Akhunji Masjid, the Haji Rozbih Dargah, and 12th-century graves, the plea said, "This reckless disregard for the invaluable archaeological and historical treasures of India, especially in Delhi, is deeply alarming. The Petitioner earnestly implores this Hon’ble Court to safeguard heritage structures".It was argued that the structures in question are protected by the Places of Worship Act as well as heritage bye-laws of Delhi. "There is a common law right of every citizen in heritage property to ensure that the same is not demolished ... the law is that once a piece of land is dedicated to waqf is always a waqf, and once there is a grave, there is always a grave.".The Mehrauli Archaeological Park area has seen several demolition-related litigation in the recent past.The Delhi High Court recently ordered DDA to halt its demolition drive till February 16 in the area. It also issued notice to the DDA in a connected matter.In November 2023, the High Court had quashed a demolition notice sent to the area's residents.