On Friday, the Delhi High Court expressed its displeasure with officers from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for their failure to produce a file signed by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The missing file reportedly contains a decision not to declare the historic Mughal-era Jama Masjid in the national capital a ‘protected monument.’ The court has given the officers one last opportunity to present the file in court by the next hearing in October.
The hearing was part of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) demanding that Jama Masjid be declared a protected building and its surrounding area be cleared of encroachments. Presiding over the case, Justice Pratibha M Singh criticized the officers for presenting irrelevant documents to the court despite previous orders to produce specific files related to the mosque’s status and its current occupants.
The ASI has been directed to ensure that a competent officer presents the original file in the upcoming hearing. Additionally, the court has instructed the Additional Director General of ASI to oversee the matter directly and to hold a meeting with government lawyers Anil Soni and Manish Mohan to ensure a comprehensive affidavit is filed.
The petitions, filed by Suhail Ahmed Khan and Ajay Gautam in 2014, not only challenge the title of ‘Shahi Imam’ used by Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari and his son’s appointment as the deputy Imam but also question why Jama Masjid is not under ASI’s management.
Earlier, the government’s lawyer had stated that Jama Masjid is a ‘living monument’ where regular prayers are held, which imposes several restrictions. In August 2015, ASI informed the court that Manmohan Singh had assured the Shahi Imam in a letter dated October 20, 2004, that Jama Masjid would not be declared a protected monument. ASI’s affidavit stated that the issue of notifying Jama Masjid as a protected monument was raised in 2004, but the former Prime Minister had assured that it would not be declared as such.
