AMN / WEB DESK
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court today dismissed a plea seeking to open 22 closed rooms in the Taj Mahal. Reprimanding the petitioner, a bench of Justices DK Upadhyay and Subhash Vidyarthi, stated, “Tomorrow you will come and ask us to go to chambers of honourable judges? Please, don’t make a mockery of the PIL system.”
The plea was filed by Rajneesh Singh, a BJP youth media in-charge, before the Lucknow bench that sought the directions to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to probe the 22 closed doors in the Taj Mahal to ascertain the presence of the idols of Hindu deities.
The plea sought the constitution of a fact-finding committee and the submission of a report by the ASI. The plea also cited the claims by some historians and some Hindu groups about the monument being an old Shiv Temple.
The Allahabad High Court petition seeking the constitution of a fact-finding committee to research on the “real history” behind Taj Mahal. Petitioner disputed that Taj Mahal was a Mughal structure.
“We are of the opinion that petitioner has called upon us to give a verdict on completey a non justiciable issue,” the bench said while hearing a petition seeking the directions to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to probe the 22 closed doors in the Taj Mahal to ascertain the presence of the idols of Hindu deities. The plea sought the constitution of a fact-finding committee and the submission of a report by the ASI.
“The first prayer (to constitute a fact-finding committee to study “real history” of Taj Mahal) cannot be adjudicated by this court,” the bench said.
The bench earlier said that it was “not convinced” with the petition seeking the opening of locked rooms in the Taj Mahal. Resuming the hearing in the afternoon, the bench said, “We are not convinced with your prayers. What are you seeking is the exploration of facts through a fact-finding committee? That’s none of your rights and it’s not under the ambit of the RTI Act.”
The petitioner then asked if he needed to file an amended petition.
The bench was hearing a petition seeking the opening of locked rooms in the Taj Mahal. Earlier in the day, the lawyer representing the petitioner argued that the citizens of the country have the right to know about the Taj Mahal. The court, however, slammed the plea and asked the petitioner to not make a mockery of the PIL system. The matter is slated to be heard post lunch.
“I got to know about many rooms which have been locked and the authorities said that those rooms are locked because of security reasons… If there are many hidden things under the Taj Mahal that should be in public,” he further said.
The Uttar Pradesh government said that the petitioner lacks territorial jurisdiction. “How can we pronounce a verdict on this? What is your right? Where is this right? To get a particular study conducted? ” the court said in response to the petitioner’s argument that he had the right, under the Right to Information (RTI) Act to know what is inside the 22 rooms of the Taj Mahal.
Replying to the petitioner’s argument regarding “right to information”, the bench further said, “Go and research. Do M.A. Do PhD. Then choose such a topic and if any institute disallows you to research on such a topic. Then come to us. Please enrol yourself in MA, then go for NET, JRF and if any university denies you to research on such topic then come to us.”
The petitioner had earlier said he had been trying to ascertain the facts since 2020 through the Right to Information Act. “Replying to the RTI, the Union ministry of culture informed the Central Information Commission (in Delhi) that these rooms were locked due to security reasons,” said Singh. And no detail was provided about these rooms, he added.
“In the RTI, I had sought details about locked rooms (what is inside them) and directives to open them,” he said.
“It is an old controversy. There is no harm in authorising ASI to examine these rooms to ascertain facts. This will put to rest all controversies related to the Taj Mahal,” said DP Tewari, former professor of ancient history at the Lucknow University.