Madhya Pradesh HC Adjourns Hearing on Bhojshala Temple- Mosque Dispute

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Monday adjourned the hearing on the disputed Bhojshala-Kamal Maula mosque complex in Dhar district.

This follows the submission of a scientific survey report by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) a week earlier.

A bench of Justices S A Dharmadhikari and D V Ramana stated that the matter would be heard once the Supreme Court issues its order, as indicated by ASI’s counsel Himanshu Joshi.

The Supreme Court, on July 15, agreed to consider listing a plea against the scientific survey of Bhojshala filed by the Maulana Kamaluddin Welfare Society. The plea challenges the High Court’s March 11 order, which mandated the survey to determine the community to which the shrine belongs.

The High Court decided that intervener applications would be considered at the final argument stage. ASI’s counsel argued that entertaining such applications could lead to delays and numerous additional applications.

Joshi said, “The High Court will begin hearings on the ASI report once the Supreme Court’s direction is received. It said, ‘Let the order from the Supreme Court come; thereafter, we will hear the matter.'”

On April 1, the Supreme Court had declined to stay the scientific survey of Bhojshala but ordered that no action be taken based on its outcome without the Court’s permission.

On 15^th July, the ASI submitted its extensive scientific survey report, which spans over 2,000 pages. The High Court had ordered the survey following an application by the Hindu Front for Justice, granting ASI six weeks to complete it. The ASI, which began the survey on March 22, had approached the High Court twice seeking extensions to complete the task.

The Hindu community views Bhojshala as a temple of Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati), while the Muslim community refers to it as the Kamal Maula Mosque. An ASI order dated April 7, 2003, established access rules for the monument, permitting Hindus to worship there on Tuesdays and Muslims to offer namaz on Fridays. The Hindu Front for Justice has challenged this arrangement in its petition.