SC to hear pleas against MP High Court verdict on Bhojshala complex

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to list for hearing a batch of appeals challenging a Madhya Pradesh High Court order, which said the disputed Bhojshala complex in Dhar district was a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohna was urged by senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi and advocate Nizam Pasha, appearing for Muslim appellants, that the pleas needed to be heard on an urgent basis.

The CJI asked the counsel for the appellants to remove defects from the petitions and assured them that they will be listed for hearing before a bench soon. On May 15, the Madhya Pradesh High Court ruled that the disputed Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque complex in Dhar district is a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati. It simultaneously quashed a decades-old ASI order that had allowed the Muslim community to offer Friday prayers at the site.

The high court had also said that the Centre and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) can decide on the Bhojshala complex’s administration and management.

The Hindu community considers Bhojshala a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, while the Muslim side calls the 11th-century monument the KamalMaula Mosque. The disputed complex is protected by the ASI. The Muslim side has filed appeals against the high court verdict.

Hindu parties have filed caveats in the Supreme Court, saying no orders be passed without hearing it on any appeal against the high court order in the Bhojshala complex dispute case. The high court’s division bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi, in its judgement, had said the religious character of the 11th-century monument was based on scientific evidence. The high court clarified that the Muslim side may approach the MP Government for separate land in the district to construct a mosque.

“The religious character of disputed area of the Bhojshala Complex and Kamal Maula Mosque is held to be a Bhojshala with a temple of goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati),” the bench said in its order and also ordered that the area of Bhojshala “is held to be a protected monument” under 1958 Act with effect from March 3, 1904. Directing that the ASI shall have full supervisory control over the preservation, conservation and regulation of religious access, the court asked the Centre and the ASI to take a decision for the purpose of administration and management of the affairs of the Bhojshala temple and Sanskrit learning.

The High Court had said the central Government “may consider” representations of some of the petitioners to bring back the ‘Pratima’ (idol) of Goddess Saraswati from the London Museum and re-establish the same within the complex. This order nullified the April 2003 ASI order that permitted Hindus to worship on Tuesdays and Muslims to offer namaz on Fridays.

The high court’s order had a mention about the background and legal arguments surrounding the Ayodhya dispute, as many petitioners referred to the Supreme Court judgement. The court also asked the Madhya Pradesh Government to consider a plea from the petitioners for allocation of a land in Dhar district for construction of a mosque.

The court said from the archaeological and historical facts it is “crystal clear that the building in question is a Hindu temple and place of learning of Sanskrit language”.

“In order to secure the religious rights of the Muslim community and to ensure complete justice between the parties.... the State Government may consider (an application for land) in accordance with law for allotment of a suitable and permanent part of land in Dhar district to the Muslim community, which may be represented either through... a duly constituted Waqf body for the construction, administration of a mosque and associated religious facilities,” the court said.

Relying on certain reports submitted by the ASI, the high court said these reports mention that the structure stands on the site of a temple believed to be dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, based on inscriptions and local tradition.

“Reports from 1902-03 and thereafter classify the structure as an important historical and archaeological building, including Bhojshala Kamal Maula,” the high court had said.

The court also pulled up the ASI for “deliberate dereliction of duty” and said the constant inaction and disdainful attitude of the central agency in neglecting the Bhojshala Temple cum Kamal Maula Mosque and violation of the provisions of the Monument Act.

The court further held that the statutory duty of the ASI before protecting a site is to ascertain the nature, character and original form of the place of worship.

“The historical literature, architectural features clearly indicate that Bhojshala Complex for learning Sanskrit was constructed by Raja Bhoj in 1034 AD much prior to the claim of construction of mosque by the other community i.e., 28.4.1935,” the HC said.