Gangele, J. -- 1. The petitioner has filed this Public Interest Litigation for protection of Gwalior Fort, which is an ancient monument. The petitioner is a social worker and he has filed this petition in probono publico interest.

2. Gwalior Fort is one of the biggest fort in India. A postage stamp has been issued by the Indian Postal Service to commemorate the importance of this Foprt. The Fort has two parts. The main fort and the Gujari Mahal and Man Mandir place. The first part was built during the early Tomar rule, while the second part. Gujari Mahal and place was constructed by Raja Man Singh Tomar in 15th century for his favourite queen, Mrignayani. After Tomar dynasty the fort came under the control of Lodhis. Thereafter, it passed into the hands of Mughal and before independence, it came into the hands of Scindias.

3. History of Gwalior Fort has been beautifully described in a publication “Gwalior Today” published by the Publicity Department of the Government of Gwalior in 1940, which is as under :

It is from this period that the story of the foundation of the fort by Suraj Sen dates. A Kachhwaha Rajput Prince, Suraj Sen, is supposed to have been cured of leprosy by the hermit Gwalipa who caused him to drink at the spring near the Suraj Kund which is still known today. However, it is quite true that Kanchhwahas were responsible for building much of the fort as we know it today, and independently or as feudatories, they ruled until 1129 when that remarkable character Tej Karon was on the throne. He maried the princess Maroni and prolonged his honeymoon for a whole year, which action has caused him to be handed down in tradition as the “bridegromm prince”. It was inevitable that this should tempt his nephew, a Parihar Rajput, to usurp the throne.

But we are going ahead of our story. More than a hundred years earlier in 1021 Mahmud of Ghazni had appeared below Gwalior Fort. Though the Kachhwahas had already made it a strong place, they found it more expedient to buy off Mahmud. Consequently Rajput rule continued till 1196 when Kutb-ud-Din Aibak took the fort for Sultan Muhammed Ghori. Fourteen years later, however, the Parihars recovered the fort again during the rule of Kutab-ud-Din’s son and they managed to retain possession until 1232 when Altamsh after a siege of 11 months captured the citadel, and to celebrate his victory put 700 prisoners to death before the door of his tent.

This occasion is the first record of the Johar at Gwalior, the Rajput ladies burning themselves to death rather than fall victims to Delhi’s Slave King.

But sacrifices were in vain, the fort and its territory remained in the hands of the Muslim kings of Delhi until 1398 when during the confusion caused by the invasion of India by Timur, Virsinghdeo, a Tomar Rajput, made himself master of Gwalior.

The entry of the Tomars heralded the dawn of Gwalior’s golden age. Though Central India was by no means entirely at peace, trade and the arts must have flourished considerably under the shelter of the great stronghold of Gwalior. During the reign of Dungarsingha Tomar, one of Virsinghdeo’s successors, most of the Jain rock carvings in the fort were executed. It goes without saying that these must have been carved at the behest of Jain merchant princies and it is equally obvious that there would not be merchant princes in Gwalior were there not a very sound guarantee of security.

Raja Man Singh :

During the century which followed Virsinghdeo’s seizure of the fort, Gwalior progressed so rapidly that Raja Man Singh, the greatest of the Tomar rulers, was able to build the magnificent Man Singh palace and the Gujri Mahal. The latter housed his famous queen Mrignayani, the foundress of the Gwalior school of music. This institution rapidly became known all over the country and much later, in the “Ain-i-Akbari” where 36 greater singers and players are listed, 15 of them are recorded as having learnt their art at Gwalior. Among these pupils was Tansen, the greatest