Qazi Moinuddin moves to SC against MP High Court’s Bhojshala judgment, details
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On Friday, 22nd May, an appeal was filed before the Supreme Court challenging the May 15 judgment of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which held that the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque complex in Dhar is a Hindu temple. The appeal has been filed by Qazi Moinuddin before the top court.
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The disputed area of the 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 Caraswali, "the High Court said in its judgment.
In view of the above findings, the Bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi set aside the 2003 order of the Archaeological Survey of India, which had allowed Muslims to offer prayers at the site.
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“Muslims may apply to the State for an alternative site for the construction of a mosque,” the High Court said.
The High Court observed that historical records and archaeological material showed that the site was a centre of Sanskrit learning and housed a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati.“The Court said that it relied on archeological and historical facts and arrived at the conclusion based on the precedent laid down by the Supreme Court in the Ayodhya case.”
The High Court directed the Government of India and the Archaeological Survey of India to decide the administration and management of the temple.
On the request made by the Hindu petitioners for the return of the idol of Goddess Saraswati, which was allegedly taken away by the British, the Court said that the Government of India may treat the plea as a representation and consider it accordingly.
The judgment was delivered in a batch of petitions seeking restoration of the Bhojshala complex to Hindus and a prohibition on Muslims offering namaz at the site. The petitions challenged an April 7, 2003, notification issued by the ASI, which permitted Muslims to offer namaz within the Bhojshala complex while allegedly restricting Hindu worship at the premises.
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One of the petitions, filed as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by Hindu Front for Justice, stated that it was seeking enforcement of the Hindu community’s right to religion under Article 25 and the right to conserve cultural heritage under Article 29 of the Constitution.
The plea also sought restoration of the idol of Goddess Saraswati (Vagdevi), which was said to have been installed by King Bhoj in 1034 AD and later taken to London by the British after being desecrated.
The petitioners further alleged that the ASI allowed Muslims to offer prayers within the temple complex on their "illegal demand on the ground that the Muslim rulers had constructed Kamal Maula Mosque at the said place."
In 2024, following directions issued by the High Court, the ASI surveyed the Bhojshala complex. In its report, the ASI stated that the existing structure appeared to have been built using parts of earlier temples. The High Court later inspected the site before delivering its verdict.