Sakina Tashrifwala
Published on: 06 December 2022 at 22:22 IST
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) aiming to rewrite the history of the Taj Mahal was denied on Monday by the Supreme Court.
It was cited by the bench the fact that, “Everything cannot be reopened after 400 years” as its justification. A petitioner seeking a declaration that Sri Sri Thakur Anukul Chandra be proclaimed as the sole God for all Indians was charged Rs 1 lakh in an effort to discourage the filing of frivolous PILs.
It was decided by Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar that UN Dalai, the petitioner, had the freedom to practise his religion of choice.
The bench stated, “India is a secular country and the petitioner can’t be permitted to claim that residents of India may recognise Sri Sri Thakur Anukul Chandra as ‘paramatma.”
After 400 years, the Taj Mahal should be left alone.
The panel ruled that this was “not a PIL but publicity interest litigation” and dismissed the case with a fine of Rs 1 lakh for wasting judicial time with a frivolous plea.
A short time later, lawyer Barun Kumar Sinha argued on behalf of PIL petitioner Dr. Sachchida Nand Pandey, who wanted the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to investigate the Taj Mahal in detail to find out what building came before the Mughal era edifice.
After ASI releases its study on the Taj Mahal, Sinha suggested, textbooks should be updated to reflect the true history of the monument. The court ruled that PILs cannot be used to conduct “fishing inquiries.
The Taj Mahal has stood for four hundred years; it should remain where it is. The ASI hears your case once you submit your argument. Keep the justice system out of it. After 400 years, no door can be opened again. The judicial system lacks archaeologists with the necessary knowledge to rule on such cases.