Bhojshala temple dispute reaches SC as Muslim side challenges High Court order

The Muslim side has moved the Supreme Court against the Madhya Pradesh High Court ruling on the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque complex. The plea challenges the finding that the site is a Saraswati temple and the bar on Friday namaz.

In Short

• Veridct challenged by mosque's caretaker Qazi Moinuddin
• High Cour recognised Bhojshala as Goddess Saraswati temple
• Muslim side identify the complex as the Kamal Maula Mosque

The decades-old dispute over the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque complex in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar has now reached the Supreme Court, with the Muslim side challenging a recent High Court verdict that recognised the site as a temple dedicated to Goddess Vagdevi Saraswati and barred Friday namaz at the premises.

The petition has been filed by Qazi Moinuddin, the mosque's caretaker and one of the intervenors in the case, against the May 15 judgment delivered by the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

The Intazamiya Committee Kamal Maula Masjid and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board were also among the parties contesting the matter before the High Court.

Challenging the verdict before the Supreme Court, the Muslim side has argued that the High Court ruling runs contrary to archaeological evidence and violates the spirit of the Places of Worship Act, 1991. Anticipating a challenge to the verdict, Hindu parties had already filed a caveat petition in the Supreme Court seeking that no ex parte order be passed without hearing them.

HIGH COURT ORDER

In its landmark ruling, the High Court held that the religious character of the disputed complex was that of Bhojshala, a temple associated with Goddess Saraswati and linked to Parmar ruler Raja Bhoj, who is credited with turning Dhar into a centre of Sanskrit learning.

A division bench of Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi observed that historical records, archaeological material and literary evidence supported the Hindu claim over the site. The High Court said the available materials established the existence of a temple dedicated to Goddess Vagdevi Saraswati at Dhar and noted continuity of Hindu worship at the site over time.

The High Court also quashed the Archaeological Survey of India's 2003 arrangement that allowed Hindus to perform puja on Tuesdays and Muslims to offer namaz on Fridays at the protected monument. With the order being struck down, the weekly Friday prayers by the Muslim community at the complex stand discontinued.

"The historical literature of the place establishes it as a centre of Sanskrit learning associated with Raja Bhoj. It indicates the existence of a temple dedicated to Goddess Vagdevi Saraswati at Dhar. Therefore, the religious character of the area is held to be Bhojshala with temple of Goddess Vagdevi Saraswati," the court said in its ruling.

At the same time, the High Court suggested that the Madhya Pradesh government could consider allotting suitable land within Dhar district for the construction of a mosque if an application was made by the Muslim side.

HISTORY OF IT

The Bhojshala dispute centres around competing claims over the 11th-century structure in Dhar. Hindus regard the site as an ancient Saraswati temple, while Muslims identify it as the Kamal Maula Mosque.

The present round of litigation stemmed from multiple petitions seeking exclusive Hindu worship rights and restrictions on namaz at the site. During the proceedings, the High Court had also ordered a scientific ASI survey of the monument. The survey process briefly came under scrutiny in the Supreme Court before a time-bound mechanism was put in place for submission of the report and objections by all parties.

During the hearings, Hindu petitioners relied on inscriptions, archaeological remains and structural features to argue that the site was originally a Saraswati temple dating back to Raja Bhoj's reign.

Muslim parties, however, contended that historical records from the Khilji era did not mention the destruction of any Saraswati temple and cited a 1935 proclamation issued by the erstwhile Dhar ruler permitting namaz at the site. Jain petitioners also laid claim to the complex, arguing that an idol associated with the site belonged to Goddess Ambika and pointing to similarities with Jain temple architecture in Mount Abu.

- Ends