New Delhi, July 30, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Madhya Pradesh government to facilitate Friday prayers by members of the Muslim community at a plot adjacent to the disputed Bhojshala complex in Dhar, clarifying its earlier interim arrangement in the matter.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana directed that Friday namaz may be offered at the identified site between 1 pm and 3 pm every Friday.
The court noted that the site plan presented before it indicated that the land, described as dargah property, was located adjacent to the disputed premises and had a separate access road, making it suitable for the arrangement.
The Bench directed the Madhya Pradesh authorities to make necessary arrangements and clarified that the order would not prevent both parties from mutually agreeing upon any alternative location in the future.
The direction came while hearing an application filed by the Muslim side, which alleged that the district administration had failed to comply with the Supreme Court’s earlier order to provide an open space near the Bhojshala premises for Friday prayers.
Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the Muslim petitioners, argued that the site allotted by the administration was located around 1.3 km away from the disputed complex and did not meet the requirement of being adjacent or near the monument. He claimed that several alternative plots, including adjoining Waqf land, were available.
During the hearing, the Bench examined the site map and questioned whether an adjacent plot could be used if separate access routes for both communities could be maintained.
Appearing for the Madhya Pradesh government, Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj said the administration’s primary concern was maintaining law and order and that it did not wish to enter into competing claims over religious rights.
After examining the submissions and the site plan, the Supreme Court identified the portion marked on the map as the location where Friday prayers could be offered under the interim arrangement.
Earlier, the apex court had declined to stay the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s judgment relating to the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque complex but directed the state government to provide a separate open space near the protected monument for Friday prayers as an interim measure.
The Supreme Court had also directed that no structural changes be carried out at the protected monument by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) without its prior approval.
The dispute stems from the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s May 15 judgment declaring the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula complex in Dhar as a Hindu temple and cancelling the earlier administrative arrangement that allowed Muslims to offer Friday prayers at the protected monument.
The Muslim side has challenged the High Court order before the Supreme Court, where proceedings regarding the religious character and rights associated with the disputed site are pending.
The Bhojshala complex, protected by the ASI, has remained at the centre of a long-running religious dispute. Hindu groups claim it was a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati and a centre of Sanskrit learning, while the Muslim side maintains that the complex includes the Kamal Maula Mosque where Friday prayers were historically offered under previous arrangements.
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