The petition seeking to “find the truth” behind the 22 locked rooms in the Taj Mahal was filed last week before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court by Rajneesh Singh, who is the media in-charge of the BJP’s Ayodhya unit.The petition cited the claims of some historians and Hindu groups that the mausoleum is actually an old Shiva temple. The petitioner sought the formation of special committee by the Archaeological Survey of India to examine the locked rooms and release the report.
Following the high court’s dismissal of the petition, the petitioner’s lawyer Rudra Vikram Singh said that he will move the Supreme Court after approaching the Department of History and the Archaeological Survey of India.”We will challenge this order in the Supreme Court,” he said.
Meanwhile, the court said: “The plea to constitute a fact-finding committee to find out the ‘real truth’ behind the Taj Mahal is a non-justiciable issue. The prayers cannot be adjudicated upon by this court.””For the prayer regarding opening up of the rooms, the historical research ought to involve a proper methodology. This should be left to the historians.”
“Asking for a fact-finding committee to look into this issue does not fall under the purview of your [petitioner] rights. It does not fall under the ambit of Right to Information.”
