New Delhi, Sept. 19 -- The restoration of the 700-year-old Gumti of Shaikh Ali in Defence Colony is expected to be completed by the end of the year, the Delhi government informed the Supreme Court on Thursday. The statement came in an affidavit submitted by the Department of Archaeology, which provided phase-wise timelines for reviving the Lodi-era monument to its former glory.

The affidavit follows the top court's clearance of the structure from illegal occupation by the Defence Colony Residents Welfare Association, which had been using the monument as its office. The archaeology department declared the Gumti a protected monument on August 12 under the Delhi Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 2004...