MP HC declares disputed Bhojshala complex as Hindu temple

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday accepted the disputed Bhojshala structure in Dhar to be a Hindu place of worship, the Temple of Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati).

The Indore Bench of the high court delivered its judgement after hearing five petitions submitted in the matter.

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In its verdict, the court placed the protection of the site under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and granted the rights of worship at the place to Hindus.

Heavy security arrangements had been put in place since yesterday all over the Dhar town and also at Indore and other places in the state a day ahead of the judgment. Dhar Collector Rajiv Ranjan Meena and SP Sachin Sharma inspected the Bhojshala site on Friday and reviewed the security arrangements.

More than 1,200 police personnel have been deployed to maintain peace and ensure law and order.

The security situation is more tense now, as the decision in favour of Hindus has come on a Friday, the day when the Muslims are allowed to offer their weekly Juma Namaz at the Bhojshala complex. The Muslims claim the structure to be the Kamaal Maula Mosque.

According to Indore (Rural) DIG Manoj Kumar Singh, security has been deployed across all locations. He appealed to the people of Dhar to accept the High Court’s decision, and urged all citizens to fully cooperate in maintaining law and order.

While delivering its decision, the court noted that it had taken into consideration archaeological and historical evidence, provisions of the ASI Act, the report of the survey conducted by the ASI, and also the precedent of the Supreme Court decision in the Ram Janmabhoomi case regarding the dispute over the Babri Masjid and the Ram Temple at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.

The Court also set aside the ASI’s 2003 order that had denied Hindus the right to worship at the site. Another order granting Muslims the right to offer Namaz at the complex was also quashed.

The court advised the Muslim side, which has maintained that Bhojshala is the Kamaal Maula Mosque, to seek some separate land from the government for a mosque.