Taj Mahal Tejo Mahalaya Case: Allahabad HC Issues Notice To Centre, ASI On Plea For Monument Survey

Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court has issued notices to the Union of India and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on a petition challenging the refusal of an Agra trial court and a revisional court to appoint an Advocate Commissioner to inspect, photograph and videograph the Taj Mahal. Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal passed the order after hearing counsel for the petitioners and directed the respondents to file their counter-affidavits.

The plea has been filed on behalf of the deity “Lord Sri Agreshwar Mahadev Nagnatheswar Virajman,” described in the petition as presiding over the “Tejo Mahalaya Temple Palace,” through next friend Advocate Hari Shankar Jain, along with other devotees. The petition arises out of a civil suit instituted at Agra in 2015.

In the underlying suit, the plaintiffs claim that the Taj Mahal was originally the Tejo Mahalaya, an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Shiva said to have been constructed by Raja Paramardi Dev in 1155-56 AD, and later held successively by Raja Maan Singh and Raja Jai Singh of Jaipur, before Mughal ruler Shah Jahan is alleged to have usurped the structure and altered portions of it to convert it into a memorial for his queen. The suit seeks a declaration to this effect, along with permission for Hindus to perform darshan, pooja and aarti within the monument, citing the fundamental right under Article 25 of the Constitution.

The suit also refers to certain architectural features including a ‘Kalash’ atop the marble dome and a structure recorded in ASI records as a “Gaushala” which the plaintiffs cite in support of the claimed Hindu religious character of the property, along with an assertion that the ASI had permitted Friday namaz at the site while restricting other categories of visitor access.

An application seeking appointment of an Advocate Commissioner to inspect the monument was filed in 2017. The Additional Civil Judge (Senior Division), Agra, rejected the application in July 2019, holding that the plaintiffs had not filed revenue records such as Khasra or Khatauni to identify the exact Gata number, and that the area and boundaries described in the plaint, stated as 77 bighas, did not match the defendants’ documents. A revision petition against this order was held to be non-maintainable by the Additional District Judge, Agra, on April 4, 2026.

Challenging both orders before the High Court, the petitioners, represented by Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, assisted by Advocate Saumya Srivastava, contended that the trial and revisional courts failed to examine whether a local investigation was necessary to resolve the disputed issues, and instead rejected the application on grounds unrelated to its merits. The petition contends that the physical features, structural characteristics and locked-off portions of the monument cannot be effectively proved through oral evidence alone, and that since the Taj Mahal is a protected monument under ASI control, the petitioners have no independent means of accessing or photographing the portions they seek to rely on.

“...such signs and symbols available in the building itself cannot be proved without there being an authoritative photograph filed before the court.”

The petition places reliance on the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Ayodhya title dispute, which recognised the power of civil courts under Order XXVI Rule 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure to appoint commissioners for local investigation where necessary to elucidate matters in controversy. The petitioners have prayed that the High Court set aside the orders of the Agra courts and direct the trial court to decide the Advocate-Commissioner application afresh on its merits. An accompanying interim application seeks a direction to the Director of the ASI to photograph the interior and exterior of the monument in the presence of the petitioners and place the photographs on record before the trial court.

CASE DETAILS

Case Title: Lord Sri Agreshwar Mahadev Nagnatheswar Virajman and others v. Union of India and others

Court: Allahabad High Court

Bench: Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal

Counsel for Petitioners: Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, assisted by Advocate Saumya Srivastava; Advocate Hari Shankar Jain (next friend, underlying suit)