Delhi HC directs ASI to probe Hindu Sena plea on ‘wrong facts’ about Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal plea: The Delhi High Court has asked the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) to look into Hindu Sena representation plea that the Taj Mahal was not constructed by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The plea mentions that the white marble architectural marvel was ‘renovated’ by Shah Jahan. 

The Taj Mahal is believed to have been built in Agra between 1631 and 1648, according to UNESCO. 

The plea by the Hindu Sena representation seeks that alleged factually wrong information about the Taj Mahal, its age, and who constructed it should be corrected in history books. 

The Hindu Sena claims that the Taj Mahal is ‘palace of Raja Man Singh’, which was later ‘renovated’ by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. 

A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela disposed of the public interest litigation (PIL). The high court noted that the petitioner had earlier filed a plea with similar prayers before the Supreme Court, which had allowed him to withdraw it after he proposed to give a representation to the ASI.

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The apex court had in December 2022 refused to entertain the plea regarding the Taj Mahal, saying PILs were not meant for seeking a "fishing enquiry" and courts were not there to reopen history.

On Friday, petitioner Surjit Singh Yadav’s counsel told the high court that he gave a representation to the ASI in January this year but has not received any response yet.

Yadav, the president of NGO Hindu Sena, has claimed in his PIL that "wrong historical facts" are being taught and shown to the public about the construction of the Taj Mahal.

The plea sought direction to the authorities to remove allegedly factually wrong information on the construction of the Taj Mahal by Shah Jahan from history books and textbooks referred to in schools, colleges, universities and other institutions. It also sought direction to the ASI to carry out a probe to ascertain the age of the monument.

Raja Man Singh was a general of Mughal emperor Akbar, the grandfather of Shah Jahan.

The 17th century Taj Mahal located in Agra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.