Delhi court dismisses intervention plea in Qutub Minar row

Kunwar Mahender Dhwaj Pratap Singh had claimed that the monument was build on land that belonged to him

Saket district court on Tuesday dismissed the intervention plea of Kunwar Mahender Dhwaj Pratap Singh who claimed that the Qutub Minar was built on land that belonged to him and hence he should be made party in the main suit filed in the court that demands worship rights in the temples built inside the ASI protected monument.

Dismissing the plea, Additional District Judge Dinesh Kumar said that he will be hearing the main suit, filed on behalf of Jain deity Tirthankar Lord Rishabh Dev and Hindu deity Lord Vishnu (through their next of friends) that seeks restoration of 27 Hindu and Jain temples at the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque inside the Qutub Minar, next month.

“The hearing of the appeals in the suit will take place on October 19,” added the judge.

Mr. Kunwar Mahender Dhwaj Pratap Singh, who claimed to be a descendent of the royal Beswan family, had sought from the court legal rights to the land where the Qutub Minar complex exists. He had approached the court after it had finished hearing of the main plea.

“Because the monument was built on my land, I must be made a party in the suit,” the applicant had told the court.

He also claimed in the petition that he owned land in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and other areas presently occupied by the government without his consent.

Both the Archaeological Survey Of India (ASI) and lawyer of Hindu Plaintiffs, Amita Sachdeva, maintained that the applicant had no grounds to become a part of the main suit and told the court that he just woke up one day and decided to claim the rights on land that is spread across so many States.