A Delhi court on Tuesday dismissed a plea by a man who claimed ownership of the land housing the Qutub Minar complex, Live Law reported.

The man, Kunwar Mahendra Dhwaj Prasad Singh, also claimed ownership rights over the tract of land that runs between the rivers Ganga and Yamuna from Agra to Meerut, Aligarh, Bulandshahr and Gurugram.

Singh made the claims in an intervention application in appeals claiming that several temples were demolished to build the Qutub Minar in Delhi, according to Bar and Bench.

The applicant said that he is the descendent of a ruler named Raja Rohini Raman Dhwaj Prasad Singh, who died in 1950. According to the application, the ruler’s four heirs – four sons and two widows – inherited his land.

The Archaeological Survey of India sought the dismissal of the application, questioning why Singh did not approach court earlier. It also said that he did not specifically claim any right in his application, and so, there was no basis for him to be made a party to the case.

The Delhi court is hearing a batch of petitions alleging that 27 Hindu and Jain temples were desecrated and damaged in 1198 under the rule of Qutub-Din-Aibak to construct Quwwat-Ul-Islam mosque located inside Qutub Minar complex.