Qutub Minar case: Deity survived 800 years without worship, let that continue says judge

New Delhi, May 24: The judge hearing the Qutub Minar case at the Saket Court said that the deity has survived 800 years without any worship. Let them survive like that.

Advocate Harishankar Jain appearing for the petitioner said that if a deity is destroyed, it does not lose its divinity or sanctity. There are idols in the complex and the Supreme Court says that if the deity survives, the right to worship survives.

When the advocate insisted that the constitutional right to worship was being denies, the judge said that the right to worship can be restricted over public order.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Tuesday, May 24 submitted its reply. In its application, it opposed the plea to revive the Temple at the location.

The ASI said that the Qutub Minar is a protected monument since 1914 and the structure cannot be changed now. "The revival of worship cannot be allowed at a monument where such a practice was not prevalent at the time of it being granted the protected status," the ASI said.

The controversy arose after former ex-regional director of the ASI, Dharamveer Sharma claimed that the Qutub Minar was built by Raja Vikramaditya and not Qutb al-Din Aibak.

The Ministry of Culture too had asked the ASI to submit its excavation report. The process began in the south of the minaret at a distance of 15 metres from the Mosque. On May 21 the Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Govind Mohan visited the site with officials.