SC permits Friday namaz on dargah land near Dhar Bhojshala complex

The Supreme Court on Thursday, 30 July allowed Muslims to offer Friday namaz at a dargah adjoining the disputed Bhojshala complex in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district, directing the state government to facilitate prayers at the site between 1.00 and 3.00 pm every Friday.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana clarified that the interim arrangement would not prevent the Madhya Pradesh government and the Muslim side from identifying another site for Friday prayers through mutual consent.

The order came after the Muslim side alleged that the state had failed to comply with the Supreme Court's 14 July direction to provide an alternative site for Friday prayers near the disputed complex.

Earlier this month, the bench had directed that an open space adjacent to the Bhojshala complex be made available for namaz between 1.00 and 3.00 pm on Fridays until the dispute is finally decided.

However, petitioner Haji Muneer Ahmad approached the court alleging that the Dhar administration had identified a site about 1.3 km from the complex, defeating the purpose of the order. The Muslim side argued that the alternative site should be close enough for worshippers to have a view of the mosque while offering prayers.

After hearing senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi for the petitioners and additional solicitor-general K.M. Natraj for the state, the bench clarified its earlier order.

"The earlier order is clarified to the extent that the Muslim community be permitted to offer namaz on Fridays between 1-3 pm at the land being Khasra No. 596 which is stated to be Dargah land. Copy of the site plan produced shows that it has an independent and separate access road and therefore the said site appears to be suitable. It is adjacent to the subject premises," the bench said.

It added that the arrangement would not prevent either side from agreeing on another location for Friday prayers.

During the hearing, Ahmadi told the court that while an application had been made to the district collector seeking land, the administration had offered a site around 1.3 km away by road and roughly 900 metres away in a straight line. He argued that several Waqf-owned plots adjoining the Bhojshala complex were available but had been rejected by the administration on law-and-order grounds.

Referring to four possible locations around the complex, including the adjoining dargah land, Ahmadi argued that the state should not "yield to the wrongdoer".

Natraj, appearing for the Madhya Pradesh government, said the state's only concern was maintaining law and order and that it was not taking a position on the rival ownership claims. He added that the government was willing to explore other acceptable sites, including private land, if necessary.

The dispute over the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque complex intensified after the Madhya Pradesh High Court ruled on 15 May that the site is a temple dedicated to goddess Saraswati. The court simultaneously set aside a decades-old Archaeological Survey of India order that had permitted Muslims to offer Friday prayers at the complex and said the Centre and the ASI could decide its future administration and management.

With PTI inputs