The Allahabad High Court issued notices to the Centre and the ASI on a plea challenging an Agra court’s refusal to order a survey of the Taj Mahal. The petitioners claim the monument was originally the Tejo Mahalaya temple and seek an Advocate Commissioner’s inspection.
The Allahabad High Court issued notices to the Central government and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on a petition challenging an Agra court’s refusal to appoint an Advocate Commissioner for conducting a survey of the Taj Mahal premises. The High Court has sought responses from the respondents on the plea, which revives the long-standing controversy over the historical character of the iconic monument.
The petition has been filed by parties claiming that the Taj Mahal was originally a Hindu temple known as “Tejo Mahalaya”, and seeks a detailed survey of the monument to examine that assertion. The case comes before the High Court after the petitioners challenged orders of the Agra district courts refusing to direct such a survey.
The dispute originated before a civil court in Agra, where the petitioners had sought the appointment of an Advocate Commissioner to inspect and survey the Taj Mahal complex. According to them, such a survey was necessary to establish their claim that the monument houses an ancient temple dedicated to Bhagwan Shri Agreshwar Mahadev Nagnatheshwar Virajman Tejo Mahalaya.
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The Agra district court, however, declined to grant the request for appointment of an Advocate Commissioner. Aggrieved by that decision, the petitioners approached the Allahabad High Court seeking to have the lower court’s order set aside.
After hearing the matter on Monday, the High Court issued notices to the Union government and the ASI, directing them to file their responses.
The petition once again brings into focus the decades-old debate regarding the origin of the Taj Mahal. While historians and the ASI maintain that the Taj Mahal was commissioned by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal and remains one of the world’s most celebrated Mughal monuments, certain groups have consistently claimed that the structure was originally a Hindu temple called Tejo Mahalaya.
These claims have periodically surfaced before courts, with petitioners seeking archaeological investigations, surveys or access to certain portions of the monument to support their assertions. The present proceedings are another chapter in that continuing legal and historical dispute.
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Counsel appearing for Bhagwan Shri Agreshwar Mahadev Nagnatheshwar Virajman Tejo Mahalaya Mandir and others informed the High Court that a civil suit concerning the same issue has been pending since 2015 before the Court of the Civil Judge (Senior Division), Agra. According to the petitioners, the pending suit seeks a declaration that a temple exists within the Taj Mahal complex.
They submitted that because the civil suit has remained pending for several years, they had subsequently moved an application before the Additional District Judge requesting the appointment of an Advocate Commissioner to conduct a survey of the monument.
However, both the subordinate courts rejected the request, prompting the petitioners to invoke the jurisdiction of the Allahabad High Court.
The petitioners contend that a scientific and physical survey of the Taj Mahal premises is essential to determine the true nature and history of the structure. They argue that appointing an Advocate Commissioner would assist the trial court in collecting factual material relevant to the pending civil proceedings.
Apart from the Union government and the Archaeological Survey of India, two other respondents have also been arrayed as parties to the petition. According to the petitioners, the Taj Mahal complex in Agra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, contains the temple of Bhagwan Shri Agreshwar Mahadev Nagnatheshwar Virajman Tejo Mahalaya, and the proposed survey would help establish their claim before the trial court.
At this stage, the Allahabad High Court has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the rival claims concerning the monument’s history. The Court has merely issued notices to the respondents and called for their replies to the petition challenging the Agra court’s refusal to appoint an Advocate Commissioner.
The matter will now proceed after the Centre, the Archaeological Survey of India and the other respondents file their responses, following which the High Court will examine whether the lower courts were justified in rejecting the request for a survey of the Taj Mahal premises.
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