Plea to rewrite Taj history dismissed

NEW DELHI, JULY 13. A self-proclaimed historian's petition seeking to rewrite the history of the Mughal monument Taj Mahal, which figures among the seven wonders of the world, has been dismissed by the Supreme Court as ``misconceived.''

``Somebody has a bee in his bonnet, hence this petition,'' was the remark of a Division Bench comprising Mr. Justice S.P. Bharucha and Ms. Justice Ruma Pal, when the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) came up for hearing on Monday.

``We repeat this is an abuse of the process of the court,'' Mr. Justice Bharucha reprimanded before counsel for the petitioner, Mr. Bijan Ghosh, withdrew the petition.

The petitioner, Mr. P.N. Oak, claimed that ``the monument of world heritage, Tejomahalaya, commonly known as Taj Mahal, was constructed in 1155 A.D. by one Raja Parmar Dev's Chief Minister, Salakshan.'' He claimed that the court chronicle of Shahjahan said ``the mansion known as Raja Mansingh's Manzil, at present owned by his grandson Jaisingh, was selected for the burial of Mumtaz and she was buried in it'' and added that he had moved the court ``to reestablish the truth and cultural heritage of our country.''

- PTI

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : National
Previous : HC asks IT Dept. to file affidavit in hawala case
Next     : Ladakhis demand Union Territory status