Syed Ahmed Bukhari, whose status as Imam of Jama Masjid was questioned by the Delhi Wakf Board, was on Thursday directed by the Delhi high court to submit a statement of accounts of the last 30 years to the board.

The order came from a Division Bench of Chief Justice B C Patel and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul after Wakf Board counsel Najmi Waziri submitted that the Imam had not rendered any statement of accounts to the board since 1975.

The Bench directed Muncipal Corporation of Delhi and the Delhi Wakf Board to remove all encroachments in and around the mosque and asked Bukhari to co-operate with the authorities in implementation of the order.

It directed the commissioner of police to provide adequate force for carrying out the court's directives and said any communication in this regard from the MCD or Wakf Board to the police chief had to be confidential.

Observing that the beautiful, prestigious and historical monument needed to be preserved and protected, the Bench said, "It is the responsibility of the MCD and Delhi Wakf Board to see that unauthorised structures are removed and do not crop up again in and around Jama Masjid."

The court asked the Archaeological Survey of India to carry out minor repairs in the mosque and submit completion report in this regard by August 3, the next date of hearing.

The court is hearing a PIL by Heritage and Culture Forum, an NGO, seeking direction to the Centre to declare Jama Masjid a protected monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.