The Supreme Court on Thursday permitted the Muslim side to offer Friday prayers at the premises of a dargah adjacent to the disputed Bhojshala complex in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and J V Mohana, directed the Madhya Pradesh government to ensure that Muslims are allowed to offer prayers at the site between 1 pm and 3 pm on Fridays.
The bench, which was hearing an application filed by the Muslim side seeking an appropriate alternative site for offering namaz, said the state government and the Muslim side could also identify another site for Friday prayers through mutual consent.
The matter reached the Supreme Court after the petitioners challenged a Madhya Pradesh High Court order declaring the disputed Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque complex a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati.
The high court had also quashed a decades-old Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) order permitting Muslims to offer Friday prayers at the site and said the Centre and the ASI could decide on the administration and management of the complex.
On July 14, the apex court had directed the state government to provide a separate open space adjacent to the disputed site for Friday prayers between 1 pm and 3 pm until the case is decided.
The Muslim side later alleged non-compliance with the order, contending that the Dhar administration had identified a site 1.3 km away from the Bhojshala complex instead of a location close enough for worshippers to sight the mosque while offering prayers.
While declining to pass an interim order restoring the status quo ante, the apex court directed the state government to facilitate Friday prayers at the dargah premises adjacent to the disputed complex, while leaving open the possibility of an alternative site being identified by mutual consent.