The Supreme Court has scheduled to hear a plea of the Muslim side in the Bhojshala row on July 28 following the claim by the Supreme Court that the alternative spot identified by the Madhya Pradesh government for offering namaz is significantly far from the disputed Bhojshala complex in Dhar.
On July 22, a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant had assured to list the plea on Friday. Since the matter was not listed in the cause list, Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi brought it to the court’s attention at the end of the hearing.
The senior advocate submitted that the state government had allocated an alternative site near the original location. He pointed out that Friday prayers had already been missed on two Fridays and that the allocated site was located 1.3 km away.
Meanwhile, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the government, opposed the submissions and said, “It is 900 meters away…”
Additionally, Ahmedi said, “We don’t have helicopters…by road it is 1.3 km. There is an attempt to always not follow orders of this court.”
The Madhya Pradesh High Court, on May 15 earlier this year, declared that the disputed Bhojshala Temple-Mosque Complex in Dhar is a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati. The move cancels the 2003 Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) order, which allowed Muslims to offer Friday prayers on Bhojshala premises.
Ahead of the order, the ASI will continue to have control over the management of the Bhojshala, but the right to perform religious rituals will remain firmly with the Hindu side.
Furthermore, the court urged the Muslim community to approach the state government for the allotment of separate land in the district for the construction of a mosque.
The bench led by Justice Vijar Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi said that there were indications of a Sanskrit teaching center and a temple of Goddess Saraswati in Bhojshala.
