Court seeks to know locus of plaintiff, maintainability of civil suit seeking restoration of Qutub complex temples
Dec 24, 2020
New Delhi [India], December 24 : The Saket Court on Thursday sought to know the locus of the plaintiff and maintainability of a civil suit seeking restoration of 27 Hindu and Jain temples in the Qutub Minar complex in Mehrauli.
Civil Judge Neha Sharma, after hearing the submission of the plaintiff, sought to know whether the court had the right to form a trust in the civil suit and asked the plaintiff to file written submission in this regard while posting the matter for March 6, 2021.
The court also raised a question to the plaintiff asking how the right to worship could be given without giving ownership of the land and what is the rationale for filing a petition as a devotee.
The civil suit has been filed on behalf of Hindu deity Lord Vishnu, Jain deity Tirthankar Lord Rishabh Dev and others through next friend advocates Hari Shankar Jain, Ranajna Agnihotri and Vishnu Shankar Jain.
"That this suit is being filed to preserve and protect the religious and cultural heritage of India and to exercise the right to religion guaranteed by Article 25 and 26 of the Constitution by restoring 27 Hindu and Jain temples with respective deities which were dismantled, desecrated and damaged under the command and orders of Qutub-Din-Aibak, a commander of invader Mohammad Gauri, who established slave dynasty and raised some construction at the same very place of temples naming it as, 'Quwwat-Ul-Islam Mosque," the suit said.
It claimed that according to the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) 27 Hindu and Jain temples were demolished and Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque was raised inside the complex reusing the materials and sought to "restore" the demolished temples.
The suit sought to declare that Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesh, Lord Sun, Goddess Gauri, Lord Hanuman, Jain deity Tirthankar Lord Rishab Dev have the right to be "restored" within the temple complex at the site of Quwwatul Mosque Complex, Mehrauli, South West Delhi "after rebuilding it with the same honour and dignity".
It also sought to issue an injunction directing the central government to create a trust, according to the Trust Act 1882, and hand over the management and administration of the temple complex situated within the area of Qutub Complex in Mehrauli after framing a scheme of the administration of such trust.
"Pass a decree in the nature of a permanent injunction, restraining the defendants permanently from interfering in making necessary repair works, raising construction and making arrangement for pooja, darshan and worship of deities in accordance with Sections 16 and 19 of 'The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958' by a trust, to be created by the Central government within the area," the suit said.
