Bhojshala row: Supreme Court orders smooth conduct of Basant Panchami puja & Friday namaz in Dhar; lays down timings

The court further instructed that details of the number of Muslims attending namaz be provided to the district administration

• Supreme Court allows both communities to pray at Bhojshala-Kamal Maula mosque
• Hindus can perform rituals on Basant Panchami sunrise to sunset, Muslims 1-3 pm
• Separate areas and law and order arrangements mandated for both groups

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The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed members of both Hindu and Muslim communities to offer prayers at the disputed Bhojshala-Kamal Maula mosque in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district.

According to the top court’s order, Hindus may pray from sunrise to sunset on Basant Panchami, observed on January 23 (Friday) this year, while Muslims can offer Friday prayers from 1 pm to 3 pm.

The court further instructed that details of the number of Muslims attending namaz be provided to the district administration, and asked authorities to make necessary law and order arrangements.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi was hearing a petition filed by a Hindu outfit, the Hindu Front for Justice (HFJ), seeking permission to allow day-long rituals of Basant Panchami.

Representing the mosque committee, senior advocate Salman Khurshid submitted that Juma prayers take place from 1 pm to 3 pm and that the premises would be cleared by members of the Muslim community thereafter.

The bench, passing its orders, appealed to both sides to observe mutual respect and cooperate with the state and district administration for maintenance of law and order. It ordered that a designated area with separate entry and exit points be earmarked for namaz between 1 pm and 3 pm, while a separate space be set aside for the Hindu community to perform Basant Panchami rituals.

The bench also directed the district administration to make law and order arrangements at the site for offering of the prayers.

Hindus consider Bhojshala, an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)-protected 11th-century 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 Fridays.