SC allows Hindus, Muslims to offer prayers at Bhojshala on Basant Panchami

The Supreme Court has allowed Hindu prayers from sunrise to sunset on Basant Panchami on Friday at the disputed BhojshalaKamal Maula Mosque in Madhya Pradeshs Dhar district while permitting Muslims to offer namaz from 1 pm to 3 pm on the dayThe top court on Thursday also directed that a list of persons from the Muslim community coming for namaz be given to the district administrationHindu and Muslim groups have sought nod for religious activities at the Bhojshala complex on January 23 a Friday when Saraswati Puja will also be held on the occasion of Basant PanchamiA bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi made an appeal to both sides to observe mutual respect and cooperate with the state and district administration for maintenance of law and order ASG as well as Advocate General have fairly suggested that after knowing that how many persons belonging to Muslim community are likely to come tomorrow for namaz between 1 to 3 pm an exclusive and separate space within the same compound premises shall be made available so that the namaz can be performed at the prescribed timeSimilarly a separate space as per the past practice shall be made available to the Hindu community to hold the traditional ceremonies on the occasion of Basant Panchami the bench saidIt directed the district administration to make law and order arrangements at the site for offering of prayers The district administration may with a view to ensure maintenance of law and order issue appropriate passes free of cost for the visitors or may adopt any other fair measures to ensure that no untoward incident takes place and the rituals are performed peacefully the bench saidHindus consider Bhojshala an Archaeological Survey of India ASIprotected 11thcentury monument to be a temple dedicated to Vagdevi Goddess Saraswati while the Muslim community calls it Kamal Maula mosque Under an arrangement made by the ASI on April 7 2003 Hindus perform puja on the Bhojshala premises on Tuesdays and Muslims offer namaz in the complex on FridaysThe top court was hearing a plea filed by the Hindu Front for Justice seeking exclusive rights for Hindus to offer prayers on Basant Panchami The plea filed through advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain was mentioned for urgent hearing on TuesdayJain had said the ASIs 2003 order does not address situations where Basant Panchami coincides with Friday prayers and sought exclusive uninterrupted worship rights for Hindus for the entire day on Basant Panchami During the hearing Jain submitted that there will be pujas and havans from sunrise to sunset and sought permission for worship throughout the daySenior advocate Salman Khurshid for the mosque committee submitted that the Friday namaz takes place between 1 PM and 3 PM and the premises can be vacated after that Khurshid while accepting this proposal stated that the approximate number of persons belonging to Muslim community who will come for namaz tomorrow will be furnished to the District MagistrateAdditional Solicitor General KM Nataraj for the Centre and ASI assured the court that the district administration will take care of the law and order situationThe top court also disposed of an appeal filed by the Maulana Kamaluddin Welfare Society challenging the March 11 2024 order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on the scientific survey of the complexThe apex court directed the high court that the matter may be taken up by a division bench headed by one of the seniormost judges of the high court Noting that ASI has completed the scientific survey and has submitted its report in a sealed cover to the high court the top court directed the high court to unseal the report and be supplied to the parties who can file objections to itIf such part cannot be copied the parties may be allowed to inspect in presence of their counsels Let objections be filed and thereafter case be taken for final hearing Till the writ is finally decided the parties shall maintain status quo at the site However parties shall continue to follow and abide by ASI order of April 2023 the bench saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever