New Delhi, 5th December 2022: Today (December 5), the Supreme Court turned down a request to take down allegedly false historical information about the Taj Mahal’s construction from textbooks and establish the monument’s age.
A bench of Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar asked the petitioner to approach the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and make a representation before it.
The bench said, “PILs are not intended for fishing-related inquiries. We are not here to reopen history. Let history continue. The petition is dismissed. The petitioner is given the right to speak with the ASI. We haven’t argued for the same in any way.”
The Supreme Court was hearing a petition filed by Surjit Singh Yadav asking the court to order the Center to remove any inaccurate information about the Taj Mahal’s construction from textbooks and history books.
Additionally, the ASI was given instructions in the plea to look into the Taj Mahal’s age.
The petitioner claimed that his study demonstrates that a magnificent mansion already stood where Mughal ruler Shah Jahan’s wife Mumtaz Mahal’s remains were placed in a dome-shaped structure.
The plea said, “It is incredibly odd that no mention of the architect of this exquisite mausoleum has been made by any of Shah Jahan’s court chroniclers. As a result, it is abundantly obvious that the Raja Man Singh palace was not destroyed but rather just altered and refurbished to give it the Taj Mahal’s current appearance. Because of this, no architects are mentioned in Shah Jahan’s court chroniclers’ accounts.’