Delhi Court To Hear Petition On Restoration Of Hindu Idols In Qutub Minar Complex Today

During the last hearing of this case, the court had issued notice to the Archaeological Survey of India asking it to respond to this petition.

The petition claims that Meru Tower is now called Qutub Minar.

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New Delhi: Delhi's Saket Court Tuesday will hear a petition seeking the right of restoration and worship of Hindu and Jain deities inside the Qutub Minar complex. The petition was filed in the court by advocates Hari Shankar Jain and Ranjana Agnihotri in which it has been claimed that there are several idols of Hindu deities in the Qutub Minar complex. Apart from this, it says there are many places in the complex where symbols like Kalash, Swastik and Lotus can be seen, which prove the Hindu existence of the building.

The petition filed in the court also says that the existing Qutub Minar complex contained huge Hindu temples of Lord Vishnu, Lord Rishabh Dev, Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesha, Lord Surya, Goddess Gauri and of Jain Tirthankaras. Claims of Qutub Minar being called Meru Tower has also been made by the petitioners.

Citing the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the petition claims inscriptions being found inside the Qutub Minar complex which prove that 27 Hindu and Jain temples were demolished and their material used to build the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque.

The petition has sought that Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesha, Lord Surya, Goddess Gauri, Lord Hanuman, and Jain deity Tirthankar Lord Rishabh Dev be given the right to be resettled within the temple premises at the mosque site.

During the last hearing of this case, the court had issued notice to the Archaeological Survey of India asking it to respond to the petition file. While hearing another application, the court stayed the removal of the idols of Hindu deities inside the Qutub Minar complex.

Meanwhile, the Culture Ministry is considering conducting an iconography of the Hindu and Jain idols found, a senior official said on Monday and added that there were no plans to excavate the site or stop any religious practice, reported ABP News.

The comments came days after Chairperson of the National Monument Authority Tarun Vijay wrote to the ASI requesting that two Ganesha idols found in the adjoining Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque be moved out of the complex "owing to their disrespectful placement".

He also said that since the mosque was built from stones of temples, such idols in different forms can be seen all around. The official said that as of now there is no plan to reinstate these idols or move them elsewhere. However, their display is under consideration.