Allahabad High Court Rejects Petition Seeking Opening Of 22 Locked Rooms Of Taj Mahal

Lucknow: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on May 12 dismissed a petition seeking directives to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to open 22 locked rooms of the Taj Mahal in Agra.

A division bench comprising justices DK Upadhyay and Subhash Vidyarthi said that the petition is not maintainable.

"The issues lie outside the court and should be done by various methodology and should be left with the historians," the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court stated.

The plea was filed by BJP leader Rajneesh Singh, who sought directions from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to open the 22 locked rooms of the Taj Mahal. Rudra Vikram Singh, a Delhi-based lawyer represented the petitioner. The state government refused to intervene in the issue.

The court said that the petitioner was seeking exploration of some facts by opening the locked rooms in the monumental four-storey structure.

The BJP leader, in his petition, said that the locked rooms of the Taj Mahal should be opened to ascertain the presence of the idols of Hindu deities.

The court added that it cannot adjudicate on such issues where expertise is required.

The court, while rejecting the petition, further said that it is outside its jurisdiction to order research or study on the issue and it further added that the petition lies outside the powers of judicial review.

"It's an area of researchers/academicians and not of the court. A verdict on historical aspects cannot be given by a court under writ jurisdiction. The petition being misconceived is dismissed," said justice DK Upadhyay while delivering the verdict in the open court.

Meanwhile, the Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble structure which is situated on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the city of Agra.

Mughal emperor Shah Jahan commissioned it in 1632 to house the tomb of his favourite wife – Mumtaz Mahal. Apart from Mumtaz's tomb, the marvellous structure also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself.

Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being "one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage".

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