Qutub row: Delhi court to pass order on review plea against dismissal of Intervention Application

New Delhi [India], December 2 : Delhi's Saket Court of Delhi on Thursday fixed December 12 as the date for passing an order on a review petition filed by Kunwar Mahender Dhwaj Pratap Singh against the dismissal order of Intervention Application (IA) in a suit seeking worshipping rights for Hindus and Jains inside the Qutub Minar complex.
The Additional District Judge at Saket Court, Dinesh Kumar, after hearing submissions on December 1, Thursday, said "Arguments on the application for review heard will be listed for order on December 12."
Kunwar Mahender Dhwaj Pratap Singh claimed ownership rights over Qutub Minar land, submitting that the government, after 1947, encroached on his property and he has Privy Council records.
He also claimed to be an heir of the United Provinces of Agra, saying the property of Qutub Minar belongs to him and, therefore, the minaret along with the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque should be given to him.
Earlier, while dismissing the IA, the ADJ had said it will hear the submissions on the main suit seeking restoration of Hindu and Jain temples inside the Qutub Minar complex.
Earlier, appearing for the Hindu side, advocate Amita Sachdeva had opposed the IA submitting that the intervenor is claiming property rights after 102 years. He is not interested in any kind of relief from the court, she claimed, adding that this petition is nothing more than a publicity stunt and should be dismissed with heavy costs.
The Archaological Survey of India (ASI), in its affidavit, had submitted that the applicant claims his right over the mentioned cities in and around Delhi, adding that it had not been raised since the year of independence, 1947, before any court of law as surmised from the submissions by the applicant.
Moreover, the applicant's claim of ownership and right of prevention of interference in his property has lapsed by the principle of the case for delay and laches, since the time period to file a recovery/possession/injunction against the same, be it of 3 years or 12 years has already expired by many decades, the ASI stated.
During the time of declaring the property in question as a Protected Monument in 1913, the complete procedure was followed and no one came before the authorities to object, and hence counting the period from 1913 to 2022, the period of limitation has already lapsed many times over, the ASI stated further in its affidavit.
The main appellant in the matter had claimed that the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, which is situated in the Qutub Minar complex, was built after destroying 27 temples.
The suit alleged that the Quwwat-Ul-Islam Masjid, situated within the Qutub Minar complex in Mehrauli, was built in place of a temple complex.
The suit was filed on behalf of Jain deity Tirthankar Lord Rishabh Dev and Hindu deity Lord Vishnu (through their next of friends), seeking restoration of the alleged temple complex, comprising, as it claimed, as many as 27 temples.
"The suit was filed to preserve and protect the religious and cultural heritage of India and to exercise the right to religion guaranteed by Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution of India 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 Ghori, who established slave dynasty and raised some construction at the same very place of temples naming it as, Quwwat-Ul-Islam Mosque," it said.
The plea claimed that according to the ASI, 27 Hindu and Jain temples were demolished and Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque was raised inside the complex reusing materials from the temples. It sought restoration of the demolished temples.
The suit also sought to declare that Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesh, Lord Sun, Goddess Gauri, Lord Hanuman and 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, under 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 to such a 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 the 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.