NEW DELHI: In view of its recent ruling staying all proceedings on disputes over religious sites, Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that the fight over the Bhojshala temple-Kamal Maula mosque complex in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh be tagged and heard along with petitions challenging the validity of the Places of Worship Act which is being heard by a bench headed by the CJI.
In April last year, SC had allowed Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to carry on with a survey of the site but directed that no action be taken on the basis of the survey report without its permission. It also directed ASI not to carry out any excavation on the premises which could alter the character of the structure.
At the outset of the hearing, a bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti said the case had to be tagged with petitions challenging the Places of Worship Act in which a bench headed by the CJI had passed an order restraining filing of fresh suits challenging the ownership and title of any place of worship or ordering surveys of disputed religious places until further orders.
Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, appearing for the Hindu side, said the dispute was not related to the Places of Worship Act and urged the court to hear and decide the case.
The bench indicated that if it went on to hear the case, then a contempt notice would have to be issued for violating its order. The court said photographs filed with the petition showed that excavation was done despite its order and the parties would have to first respond to a contempt notice.
The court, thereafter, passed its order directing the registry to tag the case with other petitions after taking instructions from the CJI.
The 11th century monument is at the centre of a dispute between Hindus and Muslims. Hindus believe it is a temple of Goddess Vagdevi, an incarnation of Goddess Saraswati, while the Muslim community calls it the Kamal Maula mosque. On March 11, Madhya Pradesh HC had directed ASI to carry out a “scientific survey” of the Bhojshala complex in six weeks.
