Two structures inside Delhi’s Mehrauli Archaeological Park bear religious significance, ASI tells SC
Any repair, renovation or construction work requires prior permission of competent authority, said the Archaeological Survey of India.
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The Archaeological Survey of India has told the Supreme Court that two structures inside the Mehrauli Archaeological Park in New Delhi carry religious significance as Muslim devotees visit them daily, PTI reported on Wednesday.
In a report submitted to the court, the authority said that the Ashiq Allah Dargah and the chillagah of Baba Farid, a 13th century Sufi saint, were associated with the “religious sentiment and faith of a particular religious community”.
Ashiq Allah, or Sheikh Shahabuddin, was also a Sufi saint. A chillagah is a secluded place where Muslim mystics meditate and pray.
“Devotees light lamps at the Ashiq Dargah for fulfilment of wishes,” the report said. “They visit chillagah to get rid of evil spirits and bad omen.”
A bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar has been hearing a petition filed by a man named Zameer Ahmed Jumlana against a Delhi High Court order that refused to pass directions for the protection of several centuries-old religious structures inside the park.
A petition in the High Court was filed amid apprehensions that the two structures in the park would be demolished by the Delhi Development Authority after a 600-year-old Masjid Akhonji, along with the Madrasa Bahrul Uloom and several graves, were razed in January, Live Law reported.
On February 8, the High Court disposed of the matter...
