The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) recently released pictures of some of the 22 underground rooms of the Taj Mahal, which were opened in January for carrying out conservation work. This was done to debunk claims about the presence of Hindu idols and structures in the so-called “permanently locked” rooms, as was claimed in a petition filed in the Allahabad high court (HC).
The Lucknow bench of the HC had dismissed the petition filed by BJP media in-charge of Ayodhya, Rajneesh Singh, last week that sought nod to open the “locked rooms” and get a survey done to ascertain the presence of idols of Hindu deities.
After the dismissal of his petition, Singh said that he would approach the Supreme Court and pursue the matter of the “secret” Taj cells. Photographs of the opened rooms in the basement were released earlier this month by ASI, whose superintending archeologist (Agra circle) Raj Kumar Patel said pictures of restoration work done by authorities were now available on ASI’s website “for everyone to view”.
Officials added that conservation work was carried out in these cells between December 2021 and March 2022. The cost of the project was roughly Rs 600,000. Several photographs that were then taken were sent to ASI's Delhi headquarters. Some of them were included in the ASI’s January newsletter, which was uploaded on May 5 on their website. The ASI has recently started publishing a monthly newsletter, which was earlier released annually. Each circle has to send highlights of work done by it to the headquarters every month, said officials.
“The maintenance work of underground cells on the riverside of the Taj Mahal was taken up a few months ago. Decayed and disintegrated lime plaster was removed and a fresh coat laid. Traditional lime processing took place before application,” said the ASI website. It carried four photographs of the basement cells before and after restoration work. Photographs of other monuments where conservation work was done during this period were also included in the same issue, said officials.
HC junks plea to open Taj rooms
A court of law has no business probing the antecedents of the Taj Mahal or what the 22 sealed rooms within the monument hold unless a petitioner is able to reasonably establish that these are linked to any infringement on one’s legal or constitutional rights, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court said while dismissing a plea seeking an inquiry into the monument’s history.
The division bench of Justices D K Upadhyaya and Subhash Vidyarthi pulled up petitioner Rajneesh Singh’s counsel Rudra Pratap Singh for filing the PIL in a “casual” manner, saying there was no way it could pass an order under Article 226 of the Constitution. The article empowers a high court to issue to any person or authority in the area under its jurisdiction orders or writs to enforce fundamental rights.
“Are we sitting on Article 226 to determine the age of the Taj? We cannot pronounce a verdict on conflicting views based on different historical reasons,” the bench said when the counsel sought to explain the history of the Taj Mahal, based on available accounts about its antiquity and construction.
The judges said they weren’t trained and equipped to deal with such a petition from the historical perspective. “The issue that can be taken up by the court should be justiciable, based on the principle of justiciability. ”
The bench said such a sensitive issue shouldn’t have been placed before the court without proper historical and legal research.
