Freak claim on Qutub land, court defers verdict on prayers pleas

On May 24, the court reserved its order as the ASI submitted the 12th-century monument and a World Heritage Site is not a place for prayers, nor can it be revived as one under the law.

A man claimed on Thursday that the land on which Qutub complex was his ancestral property, prompting a Delhi court to defer its verdict on pleas seeking to restore the right to worship for Hindus and Jains at the Quwwat-Ul-Islam mosque.

On April 13, the court directed ASI not to remove the two idols of Ganesha from the Qutub complex till further directions. (Representative image)

Additional district judge (ADJ) Dinesh Kumar issued notice to the petitioners in the case, the Centre and the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) on the application moved by one Kunwar Mahendra Dhawaj Prasad Singh, who claimed to be the heir of the ruler of the United Province of Agra claiming a right over the property where the mosque stands.

The judge said that the verdict on the pleas cannot be pronounced till the application has not been decided, and posted the matter for hearing on August 24.

In his application, Singh has stated that he is the heir of Raja Rohini Raman Dhawaj Prasad Singh who died in the year 1950. According to him, the Besean family descended from Raja Nand Ram who had died in 1695.He claimed that the Beswan Avibajya Rajya Beswan Estate Hathras Estate, Musran Estate and Brindaban Estate from Mahabharata Period, which included areas from Meerut, Agra, Bulandshahr, Aligarh and Gurugram between the Ganga and the Yamuna rivers continued to be inherited for generation from 1873 to 1950.

The petition claimed that the government of India did not sign an instrument of accession with the owners of the state after Independence and thus the Beswan Avibhajya Rajya of Beswan family is as on date a princely state, which is independent and holds all the territories of United Province of Agra.

A historian called the claim “pure concoction”, and added that he would not want to be quoted a frivolous claim like this.

On May 24, the court reserved its order as the ASI submitted the 12th-century monument and a World Heritage Site is not a place for prayers, nor can it be revived as one under the law. The court took on record the ASI’s objections to the lawsuits and said it will pronounce the verdict on June 9 (Thursday).

Advocate Hari Shankar Jain and Ranjana Agnihotri filed a petition on behalf of Jain Tirthankar Rishabh Dev and Hindu god Vishnu. The petition cited a short history purportedly displayed by ASI which, according to the plea, narrates how 27 temples were demolished and the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque was raised by reusing the material.

In an affidavit, ASI opposed the pleas for the revival of worship. It argued no community has worshipped at Qutub Minar or anywhere inside the complex since the time it has been a protected monument. ASI said Qutub Minar has been a protected monument since 1914. It added therefore it comes under the protection of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.

On April 13, the court directed ASI not to remove the two idols of Ganesha from the Qutub complex till further directions.