Hindu devotees offered prayers and performed aarti at the Bhojshala complex in Dhar, a day after the Madhya Pradesh High Court declared that the disputed Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque Complex is a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati.
On Saturday, devotees, along with office-bearers of the Bhoj Utsav Samiti, gathered at the premises, where Hanuman Chalisa was recited with full rituals.
After offering prayers, a Hindu devotee said, “We are delighted that we were able to have darshan, and there was no fee, unlike previous times. Now the entire Hindu society can conduct a pooja every day… We are elated after yesterday’s verdict, and all of us were crying and dancing with joy…"
Speaking about the verdict, Bhoj Utsav Samiti member Rajesh Shukla said, “Thanks to the verdict of the High Court and the struggle of the people of Dhar, that this day has come after centuries when we are organising pooja of the Goddess without any obstacle. We are waiting for the day when the idol of the Goddess will come and we will be able to offer prayers… The Muslim side should accept the verdict of the High Court as the constitution mandates, just like we were ready to accept…"
On Friday, the High Court quashed the 2003 Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) order, which allowed Muslims to offer Friday namaz in Bhojshala premises.
Soon after the verdict, the lawyer representing the Hindu side had stated that they would start worshipping at the site.
After the historic verdict, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain said that their immediate priority is to start worshipping at the site along with preparing for further legal proceedings in the Supreme Court.
“We will worship in the premises in question. We will exercise our fundamental rights of worship in the premises in question in tune with Article 25, as well as Section 16 of the ASI Act 1958," Jain said, while speaking to NDTV.
“And in case the Maulana Kamaluddin and Qazi Zakiullah (the Muslim petitioners) approach the honourable Supreme Court by way of an SLP (Special Leave Petition), we will also file our caveat, and we will also present our arguments before the court," the lawyer added.
The high court declared that the disputed Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque Complex in Dhar is a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, giving the ruling in favour of the Hindu petitioners.
The bench noted that the continuity of Hindu worship at the site “has never been extinguished" and recorded findings that historical literature establishes the disputed area as Bhojshala, a centre of Sanskrit learning associated with Raja Bhoj of the Parmar dynasty.
The court quashed portions of the 2003 order issued by the Archaeological Survey of India that restricted Hindu worship rights within the complex while allowing the Muslim community to offer namaz.
On the demand for bringing back the idol of Goddess Saraswati from a London museum, the bench observed that the petitioners had already submitted several representations before the government and said the Centre “may consider the representations to bring back the idol".
