Madhya Pradesh HC declares Bhojshala a Saraswati temple, sets aside ASI order on Friday prayers

In a major victory for the Hindu side the Madhya Pradesh High Court HC on Friday declared that the disputed Bhojshala complex in Dhar district is a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati and said its administration and management can be decided by the Centre and the Archaeological Survey of India ASIThe Indore bench of HC which was hearing the matter also observed that the Muslim community which identifies the 11thcentury monument as the Kamal Maula Mosque may approach the state government for allotment of separate land in the district for construction of a mosqueIn its muchawaited verdict in the Bhojshala TempleKamal Maula Mosque complex dispute the court noted that there were indications of a Sanskrit teaching centre and a temple of Goddess Saraswati existing at Bhojshala news agency PTI reportedHC said the religious character of the disputed BhojshalaKamal Maula Mosque complex indicates that it is a temple of Goddess SaraswatildquoIf the Maulana Kamaluddin Welfare Society applies for land allotment for building a mosque in Dhar district the state government can consider itrdquo the division bench statedIt also set aside the 2003 ASI order that had permitted Muslims to offer Friday prayers at the Bhojshala premisesTight security in Dhar as HC delivers verdict in longrunning Bhojshala disputeAhead of the verdict around 1200 police personnel were deployed in and around the complexDhar Collector Rajeev Ranjan Meena warned of strict action against anyone circulating objectionable content on social media while the administration constructed barricades at the site as Friday prayers coincided with the court verdictThe longstanding dispute relates to the religious nature of the ASIprotected monument in Dhar districtThe Hindu community considers Bhojshala to be a temple dedicated to Vagdevi Goddess Saraswati while the Muslim side refers to the monument as the Kamal Maula Mosque A petitioner from the Jain community has claimed that the disputed complex is a medieval Jain temple and gurukulAfter the controversy surrounding the Bhojshala complex emerged the ASI on April 7 2003 issued an order permitting Hindus to worship at the complex every Tuesday and Muslims to offer namaz there every Friday The Hindu side challenged the order in the High Court seeking exclusive worship rights at the complexA division bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi of the Indore bench began regular hearings on five petitions and one writ appeal related to the matter on April 6 this yearASI survey findings competing claims formed key part of Bhojshala case hearingsAfter hearing all parties amid differing religious beliefs historical claims complex legal provisions and thousands of documents related to the disputed monument the bench reserved its verdict on May 12During the hearing petitioners from the Hindu Muslim and Jain communities presented detailed arguments and sought exclusive worship rights for their respective communities at the monumentFollowing a scientific survey of the monument the ASI stated in its over 2000page report that a massive structure dating back to the reign of the Parmar kings of Dhar existed before the mosque and that the present disputed structure was built using repurposed temple componentsThe Hindu side argued that coins sculptures and inscriptions found during the ASI survey proved that the complex was originally a templeHowever the Muslim side contended in court that the ASIrsquos survey report was ldquobiasedrdquo and prepared to support the claims of the Hindu petitionersRejecting the allegation the ASI informed the court that the scientific survey process was conducted with the assistance of experts including three from the Muslim communityHC had directed the ASI to carry out a scientific survey of the Bhojshala TempleKamal Maula Mosque complex on March 11 2024 ASI began the survey on March 22 that year and after a detailed 98day exercise submitted its report to HC on July 15With PTI inputs