Taj Mahal case: Allahabad HC pulls up BJP leader over plea; rejects petition to open doors

In the latest development, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court rejected a petition seeking to open 22 closed doors in the Taj Mahal. Taking a firm stand on the Taj Mahal dispute, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Thursday reprimanded the petitioner and asked him to conduct research on who built the monument, before filing a plea. The bench of Justices DK Upadhyay and Subhash Vidyarthi was hearing a petition seeking the opening of 22 locked rooms inside the Taj Mahal.

The petition, filed by BJP leader Rajneesh Singh, seeks direction to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to examine the locked rooms of the monument to check for the presence of Hindu idols.

Responding to the plea, the bench said, "Tomorrow you will  ask us to go to the chambers of Hon'ble judges? Please, don't make a mockery of the PIL system. I welcome you to debate the issue with us in the drawing-room and not in a court of law."

The petition cites claims of some historians and Hindu groups about the mausoleum actually being an old Shiva temple. 

On the argument that the history behind Taj Mahal may be different from what was taught, the court said, "That is your view. You say it is wrong. Can we say you are right or anyone else is wrong?"

"If the (Archeological Survey of India) has said that rooms are closed because of security reasons then that is the information. If you're not satisfied then challenge it," the bench added.

After the petitioner cited the Right To Information and pleaded to know what was behind the doors, the court said, "Please enroll yourself in MA, then go for NET, JRF and do research (on the history of Taj Mahal). If any institute disallows you to research on such a topic. Then come to us."

The Taj Mahal was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his wife, Mumtaz. He had commissioned the structure in 1631 and the construction had begun the following year. The white marble monument took 22 years and 22,000 workers to be finally completed in 1653. 

The plea has claimed that there used to be a Shiva Temple that the Mughal converted into his wife’s mausoleum.