SC hears challenge to Bhojshala temple ruling, allows Friday namaz nearby

New Delhi: Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice on a plea filed by the affected parties challenging the Madhya Pradesh High Court verdict, which had declared that the historical Bhojshala-Kamal Maula complex site in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar was a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati and prohibited the offering of namaz there.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant turned down the petitioners' request for an interim order restoring the status quo ante, under which namaz was allowed on Fridays alongside puja on designated days. "Let us not pass any order which can cause tension," the CJI orally remarked.

The bench, however, granted limited interim relief by allowing namaz at an area near the disputed site on Fridays between 1 PM and 3 PM. "As an interim measure and without prejudice to the rights of both sides...it is directed that separate open space adjacent/near to the site is provided to the appellants for offering namaz on Fridays between 1 PM to 3 PM," the bench ordered.


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The bench made it clear that the said arrangement "shall be ad hoc in nature subject to final outcome" of the plea. Significantly, the bench also directed that any alterations made to the complex by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) pursuant to the high court's May 15 verdict must not be given effect without the court's permission.

In its May 15 order, the Madhya Pradesh High Court had ruled that the structure's religious character is that of a temple. "The disputed area of Bhojshala complex and Kamal Maula Mosque is held to be a protected monument. The religious character of the disputed area of the Bhojshala complex and Kamal Maula Mosque is held to be Bhojshala with a temple of Goddess Saraswati," the high court ruled.

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The high court quashed ASI's 2003 order through which namaz was allowed at the site. Muslims may apply to the state for an alternative site for the construction of a mosque, the high court had ruled. It further held that historical literature and archeological references established the site as a centre of Sanskrit learning with the existence of a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati. The court said that it relied on archaeological and historical facts and arrived at the conclusion based on the precedent laid down by Supreme Court in the Ayodhya case.