Petition to open closed doors in Taj Mahal was shot down by the Allahabad HC.
Highlights
- A petition was filed seeking orders to open 22 closed doors in Taj Mahal
- The petition also demanded a fact-finding inquiry into the “history” of the Taj Mahal
- The writ petition was filed on Saturday in the registry of the Lucknow bench of the High Court
The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court on Thursday rejected a petition that sought to open 22 closed rooms in the Taj Mahal to ascertain whether there were any Hindu idols or not. While rejecting the plea, the court said: “We are not sitting here to decide which subject should be researched. This matter is out of court and it should be left to historians.”
“We are not sitting here to decide which subject should be researched. This matter is out of court and it should be left to historians,” a bench of Justices DK Upadhyay and Subhash Vidyarthi said and rejected the petition.
The bench, however, took exception to the plea, stating, “Tomorrow you’ll come and ask us to go to chambers of Hon’ble judges? Please, don’t make a mockery of the PIL system.”
The bench during the hearing told the petitioner that such debates were welcome in informal settings, but not in a court of law. “I welcome you to debate the issue with us in the drawing room and not in a court of law.”
A petition was been filed in the High Court seeking a fact-finding inquiry into the “history” of the Taj Mahal and also opening of the doors of its “22 rooms” to see “the truth, whatever it is”. The writ petition was filed on Saturday in the registry of the Lucknow bench of the High Court by Rajneesh Singh, who claimed to be the media in-charge of the BJP’s Ayodhya unit.
“In the petition, I have demanded that the 22 doors of rooms of the monument which are closed should be opened to see the truth, whatever it is,” Singh told PTI on Sunday.
The Mughal-era monument is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India. The petition has also sought to set aside certain provisions of The Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains (Declaration of National Importance) Act 1951, and The Ancient Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains Act 1958, under which the Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri, Agra Fort, Itimad-ud-Daulah’s tomb were declared historical monuments.
Singh has filed the petition through his lawyers Ram Prakash Shukla and Rudra Vikram Singh. Several right-wing outfits have claimed in the past the Taj Mahal was a Lord Shiva temple.
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