Bhojshala case: SC to hear on Wednesday plea against inspection of complex
The Supreme Court is slated to hear on Wednesday a plea challenging an order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which said it will inspect the Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex in Dhar before April 2 in light of the “numerous disputes” pertaining to the ASI-protected structure.
According to the cause list of the top court, a three-judge bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi is likely to take up the appeal filed by Maulana Kamaluddin Welfare Society.
On March 16, a high court bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi had set April 2 for the regular hearing of the petitions related to the disputed Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex and said it will inspect the site.
On March 28, the two high court judges inspected the complex in Dhar. Justices Shukla and Awasthi of the Indore bench of the High Court had reached the site at around 1:50 pm and left at 2:45 pm.
The Hindu community considers Bhojshala to be a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, while the Muslim side claims the 11th-century monument is the Kamal Maula Mosque.
As per an ASI order of April 7, 2003, Hindus are allowed to worship at the complex every Tuesday, while Muslims are permitted to offer namaz every Friday.
The High Court, in its oral remarks, had said, “In view of the numerous disputes, we would like to visit the complex and inspect it. We will visit the complex before the next date (April 2).”
It, however, had clarified that no party involved in the case will be allowed to be present at the disputed site during this visit.
The disputed complex in Dhar is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which, following high court orders, conducted a scientific survey of it and submitted a detailed report.
The ASI’s more than 2,000-page report has indicated that a large structure dating back to the reign of the Parmar kings of Dhar predated the mosque and that the current disputed structure was built by reusing parts of ancient temples.
Retrieved architectural remains, sculptural fragments, large slabs of inscriptions with literary texts, Nagakarnika inscriptions on pillars, etc., suggest that a large structure associated with literary and educational activities existed at the site, according to the report.
Based on scientific investigations and archaeological remains recovered during the investigations, this pre-existing structure can be dated to the Paramara period, the report emphasised.
“Based on scientific investigations, surveys and archaeological excavations conducted, study and analysis of retrieved finds, study of architectural remains, sculptures, and inscriptions, art and sculptures, it can be said the existing structure was made from the parts of earlier temples,” the report stated.
From the art and architecture of the decorated pillars and pilasters, it can be said that they were part of earlier temples and were reused, while making colonnades of the mosque over a high platform of basalt, the ASI said in the report.
The Hindu community, which approached the court with the primary plea of determining the religious nature of the entire disputed complex, claims that coins, sculptures, and inscriptions found by the ASI during its scientific survey prove the structure was originally an ancient temple. The Muslim side, however, has disputed the claim and questioned the survey, alleging the ASI ignored its earlier objections and included “objects placed in the disputed complex” in the survey.
