The angel atop Victoria Memorial, now immobile. A Telegraph picture

Four months ago, Calcutta High Court had observed that the Victoria Memorial Hall authorities should take steps so that the Angel of Victory on top of the monument started rotating once again from January 1.

On Wednesday, the Memorial authorities told the court that engineers of Jessop?s, the company entrusted with repairing it, have not yet been able to ascertain why it stopped rotating after 1985.

In its report before the division bench of Justice A.K. Ganguly and Justice S.P. Talukdar, the Memorial authorities said the clogged lubricants, that had stalled movement of the bottom bearing of the angel, had been drained out. Now, it is imperative that similar materials be removed from the angel?s top bearing.

?To gain access to the top bearing, removal of a few stones from the kalasha (base) of the angel is necessary. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is examining the possibility of removing stones from that area without causing any damage to the monument,? the report stated.

After reaching the designated spot (top bearing of the angel), the experts will determine the feasibility of cleaning the top bearing.

The division bench will consider the report on Thursday, when the case moved by environment activist Subhas Dutta relating to the environmental condition of the monument will come up for hearing again.

Last August, when Dutta informed the court that the bronze angel had stopped moving since 1985, the division bench took a serious view of it and asked the Memorial authorities to take all steps for the figure to twirl again.

It was learn that Jessop Company ? and one of its engineers M. Bhattacharya (now retired), in particular ? had in 1981 succeeded in rotating the angel for the first time.

The court will also consider on Thursday a state pollution control board report on the Memorial?s environment.