A division bench comprising of Justice Arun Kumar and Justice Manmohan Sarin, while issuing show-cause notices to the Centre, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the Delhi Government, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and others, said, ``The respondents will ensure (that) the building, subject matter of the present petition, is not demolished.''

Asking the respondents to file replies by May 10 to the petition by Society for the Protection of Heritage and Culture (SPHAC), the court said respondents should explain why the petition should not be admitted.

The other respondents served with notices are the Commissioner of Police, Hamdard Dawakhana, who is in possession of a portion of the building, and Begum Hamida Sultan, its owner.

Seeking todeclare the building as protected monument in the memory of Ghalib as it ``symbolised the prestige of nation'', the SPHAC said hundreds of tourists, scholars and students, including those from foreign countries, visit `Gali Qasim Jaan' in the ancient city in search of a memorial to the great Urdu poet of the 18th century.

She said the haveli which once belonged to Nawab Loharu, father-in-law of Ghalib, was in the process of being sold to builders for construction of a commercial complex.

This would deprive the country of the last ``memorial'' of the great poet as the Government had ``failed'' to take concrete steps for the protection and preservation of even his ``own haveli'' in the old city, despite the High Court order about a year ago.

``Poochhte hai woh ki Ghalib kaun hai, koi batlao ki ham batlain kya (they ask who Ghalib is, will someone tell me what I should say),'' said the petition, quoting another couplet of the poet. ``The situation in Gali Qasim Jann is such that thereis no trace of Ghalib and if the state of affairs continues, there will be a day when people will forget the name of the world famous poet.''

The court in its earlier order on protection of Ghalib's own house, had directed the Archaeological Survey of India and the Delhi Government to take immediate steps to protect his haveli in Balli Maran of old Delhi.

The court had asked MCD and the Delhi Development Authority to clear the area within six months and examine how much land would be required to raise a memorial.

``On visit to Gali Qasim Jaan, the members of the petitioner society found that no steps have been taken to implement the orders passed by the court,'' Kumar said, submitting a bunch of photographs for perusal of the bench.

She said the haveli of Nawab Loharu, a few yards away from Ghalib's own haveli, was partly occupied by some employees of Hamdard Dawakhana and a large portion of it was encroached by some other people.