HC Seeks updated probe status in theft of Aurangzeb’s handwritten Quran from SPS Museum

The High Court on Monday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to inform it about the latest status of probe regarding theft of a Holy Qur’an handwritten by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb from Sri Pratap Singh Museum here in 2003.
A division bench of Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar and Justice M K Hanjura sought from the CBI latest updated report by March 19, the next date of hearing. The report, the court said, should be factually correct.
The bench did not take on record the status report which the CBI had filed on January 29, saying the same was factually incorrect.
Meanwhile, the court directed the Curator of the Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums to authenticate the Catalogue of the gold, silver and copper coins by putting seal and signature on it.
The court ordered that three catalogues in the bounded volume be produced before the court by the next date of hearing, saying one volume be kept in High Court record room and the other be placed in High Court Museum. “ Produce the sealed and signed copy by or on March 12 before the registrar judicial for submitting the same before the court on March 19”.
Earlier the Court had directed the state government to furnish details on excavation sites and heritage monuments of Kashmir even as it ordered immediate preparing of inventory of all artifacts housed in SPS Museum here along with photographs.
In 2008 by a Srinagar based social organization, Valley Citizens Council, filed a Public Interest Litigation in High Court which seeks directions for protection and conservation of artifacts, monuments and excavation sites in Kashmir as well a probe on theft of manuscript of an Aurangzeb-era copy of the Holy Quran which was stolen along other prized articles from the museum in 2003.
In September 2015, the High Court had handed over the case related to theft of the Holy Qur’an and other artifacts of historical importance for probe to CBI after Crime Branch failed to solve the case.