People from the Hindu community entered the Bhojshala complex in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district on Saturday, May 16, and began offering prayers after the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court declared the disputed Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque complex to be a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, while setting aside a 2003 ASI order that had allowed Muslims to offer Friday namaz at the site.
Muslim organisations said they would challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court.
In its May 15 judgment, the division bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi held that the religious character of the ASI-protected monument indicated the existence of a Sanskrit teaching centre and a temple of Goddess Saraswati at the site.
The court also said the Muslim community could approach the Madhya Pradesh government for allotment of alternative land in Dhar district for the construction of a mosque.
Worship begins
Soon after the ruling, devotees gathered at the Bhojshala premises to offer prayers amid tight security, with around 1,200 police personnel deployed in and around the complex.
Dhar Collector Rajeev Ranjan Meena warned of strict action against anyone circulating objectionable content on social media as authorities erected barricades near the site.
The High Court also scrapped the Archaeological Survey of India’s April 7, 2003 arrangement that had permitted Hindus to worship at the complex every Tuesday and Muslims to offer namaz there every Friday. The Hindu side had challenged the arrangement, seeking exclusive worship rights.
The long-running dispute concerns the religious identity of the Bhojshala complex, which Hindus regard as a temple dedicated to Vagdevi or Goddess Saraswati, while Muslims identify it as the Kamal Maula Mosque. A Jain petitioner has also claimed that the site was originally a medieval Jain temple and gurukul.
Court observations
The ruling relied substantially on the ASI’s scientific survey report, submitted last year after a 98-day exercise ordered by the High Court in March 2024. The over 2,000-page report said a massive structure dating to the Parmar dynasty predated the mosque and that the present structure incorporated reused temple components.
The court observed that there were indications of a Sanskrit teaching centre and a Saraswati temple existing at the site. It further stated that if the Maulana Kamaluddin Welfare Society sought land for the construction of a mosque elsewhere in Dhar district, the state government could consider the request.
The High Court’s 242-page order also said the Union government “may consider” representations seeking repatriation of the idol of Goddess Saraswati currently housed in the British Museum in London and its re-establishment within the Bhojshala complex.
Political reactions
Reacting to the judgment, MP CM Mohan Yadav said he was happy that the court had acknowledged that the site was indeed Bhojshala.
BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said the High Court had taken cognisance of the ASI’s scientific study and recognised the site as a temple complex dedicated to Goddess Saraswati.
Reacting sharply to the verdict, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi called the judgment “erroneous” and accused the court of ignoring constitutional safeguards, historical records and the Places of Worship Act.
Speaking in Hyderabad, Owaisi said the court had failed to consider the 1935 Dhar State Gazette, the 1985 Waqf registration records and the ongoing civil dispute over the title of the Bhojshala complex.
“We consider this judgment erroneous because the Court ignored the 1935 Dhar State Gazette, 1985 Waqf registration, and also ignored the Places of Worship Act. The Court also ignored the ongoing civil dispute case of the title,” Owaisi said.
The AIMIM chief also compared the ruling to the Babri Masjid-Ram Mandir judgment, alleging that it created a precedent that could trigger disputes over other religious sites and undermine the worship rights of minority communities.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh said the Supreme Court would ultimately have to decide whether worship and prayers could be permitted at an ASI-protected monument like Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque.
He said the High Court judgment would be studied in detail and stressed that rules and regulations must be followed in disputes involving religious structures.
Supreme Court move
Muslim organisations and leaders indicated they would move the Supreme Court against the ruling. Congress leader Arif Masood said the verdict was based on an ASI report whose findings had already been disputed, while AIMIM leader Waris Pathan alleged that several crucial aspects had been ignored.
Advocate Noor Ahmed Sheikh, representing the Muslim side, confirmed that they would challenge the judgment before the apex court.
The Jain side also said it would approach the Supreme Court, maintaining that evidence pointed to the existence of a Jain Saraswati idol and temple structure at the site.
