Delhi: SC fines Defence Colony RWA ₹40 lakh for illegally occupying Lodhi-era tomb

The association pleaded to be spared from any penalty, stating it was never its intention to occupy the premises in question

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Defence Colony residents’ welfare association (RWA) to pay ₹40 lakh as compensation for illegally occupying a Lodhi-era structure for over six decades.

The gumti of Shaikh Ali. (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO)

The development came weeks after the court on January 21 had ordered the RWA to vacate the structure — known as Gumti of Shaikh Ali — which was being used as officer space, and had appointed senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan as court commissioner to ensure the smooth handover of possession to the land and development office (L&DO).

Refusing to let off the RWA of its culpability, a bench headed by justice Sudhanshu Dhulia on Tuesday asked the RWA to spell out a figure that could meet with the damage caused to the structure. The association was directed to vacate the structure in January this year after the court commissioned a report from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) exposing how the structure came to be illegally encroached by the RWA sometime in the 1960s.

The association pleaded to be spared from any penalty, stating it was never its intention to occupy the premises in question, but the bench, also comprising justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, said, “If we really calculate the damage caused by you, it will come to crores and crores of rupees. There are 1600 plots and about 4,000 dwelling units. Even if you collect ₹1,000 from each unit, it will come to ₹40 lakh.”

The bench posted the matter for hearing on April 8 as it said, “We think it will be appropriate if compensation of ₹40 lakh is paid by the RWA to the department of archaeology, Delhi government, entrusted with the task of conservation and restoration of the monument.”