The Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court on Thursday dismissed the petition seeking direction to open the 22 closed doors of the historical monument, Taj Mahal.
Along with this, the court also rejected the petition seeking survey of the site.
The Division Bench of Justice DK Upadhyay and Justice Subhash Vidyarthi passed this order, while hearing a petition filed by Dr Rajneesh Singh.
The Division Bench said that such a petition cannot be entertained. The bench also said that he cannot form a fact finding committee on this matter.
The Court said, who are you to ask about the closed rooms?” The court reprimanded and said whether history will be read according to you. It is not right to make fun of the system of petition.
The Bench told the Petitioner, You Should Study First , Do MA (History) Enroll in PhD and take up this topic and if any University refuses to assign you this topic, we will pass an order .
Earlier, A petition was filed in the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court demanding the opening of 22 closed rooms in the Taj Mahal. So that people can know what is in these 22 closed rooms.
The petition said that several Hindu groups are claiming that the Taj Mahal is an old Shiva temple known as Tejo Mahalaya and this is also supported by several historians.
The petition further said that these claims have created a situation where Hindus and Muslims are fighting among themselves and hence the dispute needs to be ended.
The petition also sought a direction to the government to constitute a fact-finding committee (Archeological Survey of India) and on the orders of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, to search for important historical evidence such as statues and inscriptions hidden inside the Taj Mahal.
The petition states that the Taj Mahal was named after Mumtaz Mahal, the wife of Shah Jahan. However, in many books, the name of Shah Jahan’s wife was not described as Mumtaz ul Zamani but as Mumtaz Mahal. The fact that it takes 22 years to complete the construction of the tomb is beyond reality and completely absurd.
It is further said that in many history books it is that in 1212 AD King Parmardi Dev built Tejo Mahalaya Mandir Mahal which is presently known as Taj Mahal. The temple was later inherited by the Maharaja of Jaipur, Raja Man Singh. After that the property was held and managed by Raja Jai Singh. But it was captured by Shah Jahan in 1632 and later it was converted into a monument for Shah Jahan’s wife.
The Petitioner submitted that the Taj Mahal has a total of 22 rooms in the upper and lower part of the four-storey building, which are permanently closed. Many Hindu worshipers and historians like PN Oak believe that the rooms housed a Shiva temple.
The Petitioner further submitted that since Taj Mahal is an ancient monument and crores of rupees are being invested for the conservation of the monument. It further says that the true and complete historical facts about the monument should be disclosed to the public.