Man claims Qutub Minar was build on ancestral land; Delhi HC rejects plea

|HT|

An application by a man who claimed that the land on which the Qutub Minar complex stands was his ancestral property has been rejected by a Delhi court, clearing the path to resume hearing the pleas that sought restoration of the right to worship for Hindus and Jains at the Quwwat-Ul-Islam mosque. Additional district judge Dinesh Kumar said that the arguments on the main suit will start on October 19.

The man, Mahendra Dhawaj Prasad Singh filed an application claiming to be the heir of the ruler of the United Province of Agra and claimed a right over the property where the mosque stands. In his application, Singh said 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.

During court proceedings, the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) trashed the application and asked the judge to impose costs on the man for wasting the court’s time, saying it was just a publicity stunt.