New Delhi: Supreme Court revives Bhojshala case, allows prayers at site
The Supreme Court on Thursday revived proceedings before the Madhya Pradesh High Court in the long-running dispute over the Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex in Dhar district, in the first such order of its kind after a moratorium by the apex court in 2024 while hearing challenges to the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
To be sure, the court ordered strict maintenance of status quo at the site and prohibited any change to the character of the structure.
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A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi permitted the Indore bench of the high court to open the sealed report submitted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) pursuant to a court-mandated survey, share it with all parties, invite objections and responses, and proceed to finally hear the matter.
The 11th-century monument has been at the centre of a prolonged dispute, with Hindu groups asserting that it is a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, while the Muslim community maintains that it is the Kamal Maula Mosque.
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Significantly, Thursday’s order effectively carves out an exception to a sweeping December 2024 directive of the Supreme Court, by which another three-judge bench restrained all courts across the country from entertaining fresh suits or passing any interim or final orders, including directions for surveys, in cases seeking determination of the religious character of places of worship.
The December 2024 order, passed by a bench headed by then CJI Sanjiv Khanna, was issued while the apex court was seized of multiple challenges to the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. The bench then directed that no fresh suits be registered and that courts hearing pending matters should not pass any “effective or final orders”, including survey directions, until the Supreme Court decided the issue.
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The restraint was aimed at halting a surge in litigation initiated by Hindu groups seeking to establish that existing mosques were built over demolished temples — a trend that had led to conflicting orders by trial courts and high courts and heightened communal tensions.
In contrast, Thursday’s order allows the Madhya Pradesh High Court to resume proceedings in the Bhojshala matter, albeit with the consent of both sides.
In a separate but related order passed during the same proceedings, the bench also dealt with an application filed by the Hindu Front for Justice (HFJ), seeking rights for Hindus to offer prayers at the disputed complex on Basant Panchami this year, as the festival coincides with Friday prayers on January 23.
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