A petition seeking constitution of a fact-finding committee to study the real history of Taj Mahal has been filed in the Supreme Court.
Filed by Dr. Rajneesh Singh, the SLP contended that there was no scientific evidence to prove that Taj Mahal was built by Mughal emperor Shahjahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal for over a period of 22 years between 1631 to 1653.
Filed through Advocate Sameer Shrivastava, the petition contended that in reply to an RTI query, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) had said that there was no primary source available regarding Taj Mahal being built by Shahjahan.
As per Dr. Singh, he filed another RTI with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), but no satisfactory reply was received.
The petitioner submitted that ASI was not in a position to give the exact history of the Taj Mahal, which was a world heritage site.
Stating that Right To Information was one of the facets of Fundamental Rights under Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution, the petitioner contended that information given without any scientific reasoning or evidence was against the fundamental right under the above Article.
Earlier, Dr. Singh had filed a petition in the Allahabad High Court, which dismissed the same on May 12 on the ground that the issues were not judicially determinable.
The petitioner had sought directions in his plea before the High Court to open the 22 sealed rooms in Taj Mahal for study and inspection.
He had also challenged the declaration of the monuments built by the Mughals as historical monuments under the The Ancient and Historical Monuments And Archaeological Site and Remains (Declaration of National Importance) Act, 1951.
Before the Apex Court, however, the SLP only pressed for setting up of a fact-finding committee to study the real history of Taj Mahal.
Case Title: Dr. Rajneesh Singh vs Union of India and Ors.