Delhi HC orders halt to unauthorised construction near Nizamuddin Dargah

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the authorities concerned to halt any further construction in an unauthorised guest house near the centrally-protected Nizamuddin Dargah and Baoli.

Expressing disapproval of the unauthorised construction, a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora warned that it may involve the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for an investigation.

The court’s directive came during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Jamia Arabia Nizamia Welfare Education Society, seeking action against officials of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and others for failing to prevent the unauthorised construction.

The guest house, located within 50 metres of the protected Barakhamba Tomb and Nizamuddin Baoli, faces potential demolition as part of the plea.

Counsel for the petitioner said that despite a 2018 court order leading to the sealing of the property due to a lack of registration certification, unauthorised construction persisted.

The court took note of the ongoing violations and directed the Additional Commissioner of MCD concerned zone to personally appear in the court on the next date of hearing.

ASI’s counsel told the court that a notice was issued in December 2023, to the owner of the property in question, and that it had also written to the local police for registering FIR against the owner.

Since the construction was still going on, the court said: “The respondents are directed to ensure that no further construction is carried out (on the property).”