ASI opposes plea seeking restoration of Hindu, Jain deities inside Qutub Minar complex

The ASI also said the fundamental right of the applicant cannot be availed in violation of the existing status of the land

The Archaeological Survey of India has told a Delhi court that the Qutub Minar complex is not a place of worship and its existing status as a monument can't be altered.

Responding to a plea for restoration of Hindu and Jain deities inside the complex, the ASI said that though there was no denial about the existence of Hindu and Jain sculptures over there, a fundamental right to worship can't be claimed with respect to the protected monument.

“Fundamental right cannot be availed in violation of any status of the land. The basic principle of protection/conservation is not to allow starting of any new practice in a monument declared and notified as a protected one under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 1958. Revival of worship is not allowed wherever it is not practised at the time of protection of a monument,” the ASI submitted.

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Additional Sessions Judge Nikhil Chopra, after hearing arguments in the matter, reserved the court's order for June 9. During the hearing, the court sought to know the basis for the right to claim the right to worship over there.

The Hindu side, led by advocate Hari Shankar Jain, contended the fundamental right is never lost and the Ayodhya judgement of the Supreme Court is very clear as it held that the right to worship survived, irrespective of the status and there has to be an adjudication on it. The counsel also said the right to the deity can never be lost and moreover the Place of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 would not apply here.

In its written response, the ASI said architectural materials and images of Hindu and Jain deities were reused for the construction of the Qutub Minar complex but it cannot be a ground to claim the right to worship over the protected monuments.

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The plea claimed that the Qutub complex in South Delhi, which houses the famous minaret, was originally a complex of 27 Hindu and Jain temples before they were destroyed in the 12th century by Qutb-ud-din Aibak, who erected the present structures.

The matter before the court arose out of a challenge to a December 2021 decision by Civil Judge, Neha Sharma who dismissed the suit, holding that past wrongs cannot be the basis for disturbing the peace of the present and the future.

The suit was filed on behalf of deities Lord Vishnu and Lord Rishabh Dev through advocates Hari Shankar Jain and Ranjana Agnihotri seeking restoration of deities within the complex and the right to do 'puja' and 'darshan'.