The Supreme Court dismissed a petition to open the Taj Mahal’s locked doors on Friday, calling it a ‘publicity interest litigation,’ and declined to overturn an order from the Allahabad High Court that said it would not consider the claim that the 17th-century building was actually constructed by Mughal emperor Shahjahan.
Rajneesh Singh, a dentist by trade, filed a petition with the Supreme Court to reverse a ruling made on May 12 by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court, which described the case as a ‘mockery’ filed in the garb of a public interest litigation.
The high court did not mistake in dismissing your plea, the bench of justices MR Shah and MM Sundresh ruled in dismissing Singh’s appeal. This litigation has more of a ‘publicity’ interest.
Singh wanted permission to open the Taj Mahal’s 22 locked rooms in order to check for any Hindu icons. He was inspired by the conspiracy notion that the site of the monument was once the location of Tejo Mahalaya, a temple devoted to Lord Shiva. He had made this argument at the high court.
‘Right to get a research or study is not made out. It’s an area for researchers or academicians and not for Court,’ the high court found no grounds to entertain the plea and said. The petition was rejected by the high court because it was totally illogical: ‘Verdict on historical aspects cannot be given by court.’
As a result of the high court’s directive, Singh also sent letters to the Union Ministry of Culture and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) requesting the formation of an expert fact-finding committee to look into the records pertaining to the sale of the land upon which the Taj Mahal was constructed by the Rajput king Raja Jai Singh to the Mughal Emperor Shahjahan.
In his petition, Singh, who described himself as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Ayodhya chapter, urged that a panel of experts look into the possibility that the Taj Mahal’s domed rooms held old writings or idols of Hindu deities.
Post Your Comments