Madhya Pradesh HC to hear Bhojshala-Kamal Maula complex dispute case on February 18

The hearing was initially scheduled for on Monday, but was postponed to Wednesday as lawyers across the state abstained from court work to protest the killing of fellow advocate Sanjay Kumar Saxena in Shivpuri district on Saturday.

The disputed Kamal Maula Mosque- Bhojshala complex in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar. (File photo| EPS)

BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh High Court is set to hear the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula complex dispute case after 19 months.

The much-awaited hearing in the case was initially scheduled for Monday, but was postponed to Wednesday, February 18, as lawyers across the state abstained from court work to protest the killing of fellow advocate Sanjay Kumar Saxena in Shivpuri district on Saturday.

Considering the SC direction on January 22, 2023, that the pending matter must be taken up by a Division Bench, preferably presided over by the HC’s Chief Justice or the senior most judge, it has been left up to the HC’s Chief Justice now to decide as to which judge(s) will hear the case on the next hearing.

Importantly, the double-judge bench of HC in Indore, which postponed the hearing the matter on Monday in presence of the two petitioners (Abdul Samad Khan for the Muslim side and Ashish Goyal for the Hindu side) is headed by HC’s Indore Bench’s senior most judge Vijay Kumar Shukla.

On March 11, 2024, Indore Bench of the MP HC, while hearing a plea by the Hindu Front for Justice (HFJ), had directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct detailed scientific study (including GPR and GIS survey) to understand the true character of the ancient monument and submit a complete report to the court. The Muslim side subsequently moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the HC’s March 11, 2024 order.

While not staying the ASI survey ordered by the MP HC, the apex court on March 11, 2024, ordered that no action should be taken on the outcome of the survey and no physical excavation be undertaken which will alter the character of Bhojshala Temple cum Kamal Maula Mosque.

On July 4, 2024 the MPHC in Indore gave the ASI time till July 15 to submit the detailed report of the study (conducted for 98 days starting from March 22, 2024). The ASI subsequently submitted on July 15, 2024 in the HC its 2000-page voluminous report containing the detailed findings of the 98-days scientific survey carried out at the Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex.

Since July 2024 only, the MP High Court has been waiting for the apex court’s directions for hearing the findings of the ASI survey of the disputed complex, as the top court has since July 2024 stayed hearing on the ASI survey report.

Importantly, the centuries-old Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maulana Mosque is an ASI protected monument. While the Hindus claim that it houses the 11^th century temple dedicated to Goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati), the Muslims consider it to be the Kamal Maula Mosque built between the 13^th and 14^th centuries.