India, May 30 -- By the entrance gate of the Delhi Golf Club (DGC), pressed against its compound wall, stand two Mughal-era mausoleums that are at the heart of a legal battle that has once again pushed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and its director general, Yadubir Singh Rawat, 67, to the headlines.

From encroachments to religious disputes to controversies surrounding the hosting of events in ancient monuments, ASI is suddenly everywhere in the news. A sampling: on May 15, the Madhya Pradesh High Court ruled that the Bhojshala in Dhar was a Hindu temple based on ASI's 2189-page report that relied heavily on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) technology.

On May 28, the apex court - hearing a petition by Rajeev Suri on neglected h...