By Sparsh Upadhyay
A petition has been filed before the Allahabad High Court challenging an order of the Agra Court refusing to appoint an Advocate-Commissioner to conduct inspection, photography, and videography of the Taj Mahal.
The petition has been filed on behalf of the deity, “Lord Sri Agreshwar Mahadev Nagnatheswar Virajman,” through next friend, Advocate Hari Shankar Jain,
along with several other devotees. The matter is listed for a hearing on Monday.
For context, the petitioner before the High Court had moved a regular suit in 2015 before the Civil Judge (Senior Division) Agra, asserting that the world-famous monument is actually an ancient Hindu temple named “Tejo Mahalaya”, dedicated to Lord Shiva.
The plaintiffs sought a decree of declaration and injunction to the effect that the subject monument is a Hindu temple and, therefore, that the Plaintiffs and the members of the Hindu Community be permitted to perform Pooja within the precincts of the Taj Mahal.
They had specifically asserted that Hindus have a fundamental right under Article 25 of the Constitution of India to perform ‘Darshan’ and ‘Pooja’ within the monument.
This story was originally published in livelaw.in. Read the full story here.
