Lagatar24 Desk
Allahabad, May 12: The Allahabad High Court’s two-judge bench on Thursday slammed the petitioner who requested the unlocking of the Taj Mahal’s 22 closed rooms after he declared that the truth about the renowned landmark must be revealed, and that he has filed many PILs to do so.
“Tomorrow you’ll ask for permission to see our chambers. Please, don’t make mockery of the PIL system,” the bench said during a hearing.
Rajneesh Singh, the media in-charge of the BJP’s Ayodhya unit, filed a writ petition last week in the Lucknow bench of the High Court, asking to discover the truth behind the Taj Mahal’s 22 hidden rooms.
According to the petition, several historians and Hindu organisations say that the mausoleum was once a Shiva temple. The petition asks the ASI to appoint a special committee to investigate the sealed rooms and make the findings public.
The demand, according to Singh, is not to turn the Taj Mahal into a temple, but to reveal the truth for the sake of social unity. He stated that the only way to stop such a debate is for it to be resolved.
The petitioner’s plea was questioned by Justices DK Upadhyay and Subhash Vidyarthi. The court noted that the petitioner’s request for a writ of mandamus [an order for the performance of a specific statutory task] can only be granted in cases of rights infringement.
The petitioner stated that he is requesting the formation of a fact-finding commission to investigate the matter and renewed his demand for access to the Taj Mahal’s 22 rooms, stating that the “truth” regarding the Taj Mahal must be revealed. He argued that public should know why numerous rooms of the monument are claimed to be shut for ‘security reasons.’
