Allahabad HC dismisses petition on research of Taj Mahal, claiming it as “non-justiciable”.
The Allahabad High Court strike down the petition which was demanding to research the “real history”, behind the closed doors of 22 rooms in the Taj Mahal. The petition was filed in the Allahabad High Court seeking permission for a survey in the Taj Mahal, claiming that there are Hindu deities behind the doors.
Moreover, some historians also state that the Taj Mahal was an old Shiv temple before. The petition has been filed under the fundamental law of ‘Right to Information’ regarding the reason behind the closed doors of the Taj Mahal.
Justice D K Upadhyay and Justice Subhash Vidyarthi observed the filed petition as the judging bench. They observed that there is a need for counselling for the petitioner as this kind of petition does not fall under the Right to Information Act. Dr Rajneesh Singh, the petitioner, is a member of BJP’s Ayodhya unit. He claims the reason for accessing the 22 rooms in Taj Mahal as a false history was being talked about by the admin to him.
“Such debates are meant for drawing room, not for a court of law”, said the court.
The petitioner is challenging the orders given by the authorities to deny opening the closed doors citing security reasons. The petitioner said that he has the right to know about each and everything and here his freedom to get information is being violated.
The petitioner was seeking a fact-finding on how to study and publish the report on the real history of the Taj Mahal and settle down the controversy. The various Hindu groups also argued that the Taj Mahal was once known as Tejo Mahalaya as if it was an old Shiv Temple. This statement is also supported by various historians.
The argument was claimed to settle down the controversy between the Hindus and the Muslims and that as India is a secular country, every clash which creates social disharmony should be settled down. The petitioner proposed the history of the Taj Mahal as Tejo Mahalaya temple place printed by Raja Paramardi Dev in 1212 AD. Later the property was inherited by Raja Maan Singh and after him, it was managed by Raja Jai Singh. It was stated that the property was annexed by Shahjahan and was later converted into the taj Mahal.
Many Hindu worshippers believe that the temple of Shiva lies in the 22 rooms in the basement of the Taj Mahal. The court has also stated that the petitioner has argued upon a completely non-justiciable issue, as the court was not convinced of the petition, it furthermore stated that seeking exploration of that through a fact-finding is not under the Right to Information Act. Under the petition, it was also stated that it is not intended to make the Taj Mahal a shiv Temple but to unfold the truth behind the closed doors of the 22 rooms.
Further ahead of the hearing, BJP MP Diya Kumari stated that the land of the Taj Mahal belongs to Jaipur ruler Raja Jai Singh. Kumari is a member of a royal Jaipur family. She stated that the land was first theirs and then annexed by the Mughals. She is also concerned with the fact of surveying what was before the ‘Maqbaraas’.
She stated that people have the right to move what was before the Taj Mahal on that land.
The court has left the study to the historians. It was further stated that PIL, Public Interest Litigation, is for serious and concerning issues. The court stated to the petitioner that public interest litigation cannot be used for frivolous issues. Moreover, accepting this petition would encourage other people also to file a PIL and get their hands on various aspects like this creating social disharmony.
Using public interest litigation for such issues fire upon the controversies and social disharmony in the nation, creation of conflict between two or more religious groups and questioning the historical facts would demean the believers and their sentiments of various groups of society.
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