Sakina Tashrifwala
Published on: October 21, 2022 at 23:08 IST
The Supreme Court denied a petition seeking directives to investigate the Taj Mahal’s “true history” on Friday. The petitioner claimed that there was no evidence to support the claim that Mughal Emperor Shahjahan built the Taj Mahal.
A bench of Justices MR Shah and MM Sundresh dismissed the plea as “publicity interest litigation.” The bench refused to overturn the Allahabad High Court’s decision to dismiss the petitioner’s claim in March 2022.
The petitioner requested the formation of a fact-finding team to investigate the “true history of the Taj Mahal and to end the controversy and clarify its history.”
According to petitioner Dr. Rajneesh Singh, while it has been reported that Mughal ruler Shahjahan built the Taj Mahal for his wife Mumtaz Mahal during a 22-year period from 1631 to 1653, there is no scientific evidence to support this claim.
The petitioner has petitioned the Supreme Court in response to a judgement issued by the Allahabad High Court on May 12 dismissing his case on the grounds that the questions were not judicially determinable.
According to the appeal filed by Advocate Sameer Shrivastava, the NCERT responded in an RTI enquiry that there was no primary source accessible about Shah Jahan’s construction of the Taj Mahal.
The petitioner submitted another RTI with the Archaeological Survey of India, but received no suitable response.
The petitioner had also asked the High Court to order the opening of the Taj Mahal’s 22 locked rooms for research and inspection.
He had also contested the declaration of “Mughal invaders” monuments as historical monuments under the Ancient and Historical Monuments And Archaeological Sites and Remains (Declaration of National Importance) Act, 1951.
However, in his Supreme Court appeal, the petitioner indicated that he is only pursuing his first prayer, which is to form a fact-finding committee to investigate the “true history” of the Taj Mahal.
The petitioner claimed that the ASI is unable to provide accurate information about the Taj Mahal, a global heritage site.
“It is a trite law that right to information is one of the aspects of Fundamental Right under Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution, and if the information is given without any scientific reasoning or evidence, it is against the fundamental right under Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution,” the plea stated.