The high court was hearing a clutch of public interest litigation (PIL) pleas seeking directions to authorities to declare the Jama Masjid a protected monument and remove all encroachments in and around it. It was also dealing with an application, filed on March 16, 2018 by one of the petitioners, Suhail Ahmed Khan, seeking production of the file of the Ministry of Culture relating to the Jama Masjid.