'Can't Revive Temple At A Protected Monument': What ASI Said On Qutub Minar Row

The Saket court in Delhi today listed the order in the Qutub Minar complex for June 9.

The arguments in the matter were concluded today and the court added that the parties would be at liberty to file brief synopsis if any within a week.

¡°The more fundamental question is what is the character. You say it¡¯s a monument without worship and as such, it should continue like that. They say it¡¯s a temple pre-existing and suppose this is a situation, can it be decided under Order 7 Rule 11?" the court said while dictating the judgment, according to Live Law.

¡°Damage the fabric of the constitution¡±

One of the appellants, Hari Shankar Jain, has demanded the restoration of deities and pooja be offered at the complex.

BCCL

However, the court said that if permission is granted, it would damage the fabric of the constitution and its secular character.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) submitted its reply on the Qutub Minar case to a Saket Court where it opposed the plea to revive the temple at the location.

It said that the Qutub Minar has been a protected monument since 1914 and its structure cannot be changed now. "The revival of worship cannot be allowed at a monument where such a practice was not prevalent at the time of it being granted the "protected" status," the ASI said.

Hindu petitioner seeks purification ritual at Mathura mosque

A petitioner in the Shri Krishna Janmasthan-Shahi Idgah Masjid dispute has sought permission from a local court to perform a Hindu ritual inside the mosque, claiming that the sanctum sanctorum of the temple was located there.

The petitioner submitted an application in the court of the Civil Judge on Monday seeking permission for purification of the sanctum sanctorum of the Keshav Dev temple, which he claimed was inside the mosque, his counsel said.

The petitioner, Dinesh Chandra Sharma, wants to revive the sanctity of the sanctum sanctorum inside Shahi Masjid Idgah by purifying the divine place with the holy water of Ganga and Yamuna, Deepak Sharma, the counsel for the petitioner said.

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Dinesh Chandra Sharma, the National Treasurer of Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, on May 19 had submitted a similar application in the court of Civil Judge senior division Mathura, he said.

Through the application, Sharma had sought permission for performing the 'abhishek' (anointment) of Laddu Gopal in the Katra Keshav Dev temple claiming it to be inside the mosque, he said. Both his applications are pending in the court here for disposal, the counsel said.

UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, Intezamia committee Shahi Masjid Idgah, Sri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan, and Srikrishna Janmabhumi trust, are the defendants in the lawsuit. Several suits have been filed so far in the matter with a common prayer of shifting of Shahi Masjid Idgah, which has been claimed to have been constructed in the temple premise.

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