New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to stay an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey to determine the religious character of the Bhojshala complex in Madhya Pradesh.
A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Prashant Kumar Mishra sought the response of the Centre and Madhya Pradesh government, and the Hindu side in the matter. The bench said that no physical excavation should be done which could alter the appearance of the structure and there should not be any damage to the structure, while refusing to stay the ASI survey.
The top court said that no action should be taken on the outcome of the ASI survey without the court's permission.
On March 22, the Supreme Court declined to entertain a plea challenging an order passed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court directing the ASI to survey Bhojshala, a protected 11th-century monument. The High Court passed the order on March 11.
The matter was mentioned before a bench led by Justice Hrishikesh Roy seeking an urgent hearing. The bench told the petitioner that it cannot stay the survey without hearing the other side and added that the matter is already scheduled for hearing on April 1 when the court reopens after the Holi break. The bench noted that the survey usually takes time. "We will take it up on that day (April 1)," said the bench.
Maulana Kamaluddin Welfare Society moved the apex court registry seeking an urgent hearing saying the ASI survey is slated to begin on March 23. They claimed that the survey will damage the protected monument.
In May 2022 the Hindu Front for Justice filed a petition in the High Court against namaz at Bhojshala. The Hindu side had urged the court to issue a direction to conduct a survey to determine the "real religious character" of Bhojshala.
The High Court allowed ASI to survey the monument based on evidence the petitioners presented in the form of coloured photographs of pillars where Sanskrit verses are written.
A team of ASI began the survey of the disputed site in the tribal-dominated Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh after directions by the MP High Court to confirm whether the site belongs to the Hindus or the Muslims. The Hindus claim that the site is a temple of Goddess Saraswati while the Muslims believe it to be the 'Kamal Maula Mosque'.
The survey is being conducted under the surveillance of sixty cameras amid a strict ban on the entry of people inside the banquet hall. The Indore Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court had on March 11 ordered that a scientific survey of Dhar's Bhojshala should also be conducted by ASI within three weeks, on the lines of Gyanvapi mosque.
Read More
