The legal battle over the historic 11th-century Bhojshala complex has now reached the Supreme Court. The Muslim side filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in Supreme Court, challenging a landmark Madhya Pradesh High Court ruling that designated the disputed monument as a Hindu temple, according to a report in The Times of India.
The appeal, which seeks immediate intervention from the top court, comes amid heightened security in the area ahead of Friday prayers after the Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court ruled in favour of the Hindu side, striking down a 23-year-old arrangement at the complex.
The court quashed a 2003 Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) order that had previously split access to the protected site, allowing Hindus to worship on Tuesdays and Muslims to offer namaz on Fridays, as per TOI.
Lawyer Ashar Warsi, representing the Muslim petitioners, said the community was dissatisfied with the verdict and would challenge it before the apex court, PTI reported. The Muslim side argued the ASI survey report relied upon by the high court was flawed and claimed the dispute involved complex factual questions that should have been adjudicated by a civil court rather than through writ proceedings under Article 226.
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Warsi said the Muslim side is hopeful the Supreme Court will hear their case and allow them to resume offering Friday namaz at the site, as they were permitted earlier.
Meanwhile, the Hindu petitioners had already filed caveats in the Supreme Court requesting that no order be passed without hearing them first.
The Bhojshala complex, an ASI-protected monument in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district, has long been disputed by Hindus and Muslims. Hindus regard it as a temple of Goddess Saraswati, while Muslims identify it as the Kamal Maula Mosque.
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