Overview
- The High Court has asked the Union government and the Archaeological Survey of India to file written replies before it decides if a court‑appointed inspection or photography of the Taj Mahal should be allowed.
- Petitioners who filed a 2015 declaratory suit say the site is the pre‑Mughal Shiva shrine called Tejo Mahalaya and they want formal recognition plus permission to perform Hindu rites inside the complex.
- Lower Agra courts twice refused requests to appoint an Advocate Commissioner to survey and photograph the monument, and the petitioners moved the Allahabad High Court to challenge those refusals.
- The ASI and mainstream historians maintain the Taj Mahal is a 17th‑century Mughal mausoleum built by Shah Jahan and say there is no archaeological evidence supporting the Tejo Mahalaya claim.
- If the court orders an inspection it could raise fresh questions about heritage protection, access rules for a UNESCO World Heritage Site and how courts handle disputed historical claims that scholars typically resolve.