Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: The Hindu Front for Justice on Thursday told the Madhya Pradesh High Court that documents of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), including its scientific survey report, support its claim that a temple existed before a mosque at the disputed Bhojshala complex in Dhar district.The Bhojshala complex is regarded by Hindus as a temple of Vagdevi (Saraswati), while the Muslim side identifies it as the Kamal Maula mosque. The dispute has led to multiple petitions and a writ appeal regarding the site’s religious character, which the Indore bench has been hearing on a day-to-day basis since April 6.In its public interest litigation (PIL), the Hindu Front for Justice claimed that a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati stood at the 11th-century site and that its remains were reused to build a mosque after the temple was demolished.On the fourth day of hearing, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, appearing for one of the petitioners, concluded his arguments before a division bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi. Jain submitted that a Saraswati temple existed at the site and alleged that “Muslim rulers with a mindset to oppose idol worship” demolished the Hind place of worship and reused its remains to construct a mosque at the complex.To support his submissions, Jain cited the ASI’s 2024 scientific survey report, prepared on the High Court’s direction, along with its replies and affidavits, and historical documents published by the central government agency in 1902 and 1904. He asserted that the ASI material, based on the site’s actual condition, supports the petitioner’s case.“This does not mean that the ASI is taking sides. The ASI is only placing facts on record based on what exists at the site,” Jain told the court. He also told the court that the report lists several evidences of a temple existing at the site, including religious symbols, Sanskrit inscriptions and remains of idols.However, when Jain began referring in detail to portions of the scientific survey report, a senior lawyer representing the Centre objected, insisting that it was the ASI counsel’s task to “demonstrate” its findings before the court. A counsel for an intervenor from the Muslim side also objected, arguing that the petitioner was relying on documents from a respondent (ASI) to support its case, which is not permissible under law.After considering the objections, the High Court allowed Jain to highlight certain relevant portions of the ASI report, which functions under the Union culture ministry.The High Court had directed the ASI on March 11, 2024, to carry out a scientific survey of the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula mosque complex. The survey began on March 22, 2024, and the ASI submitted its report on July 15, 2024, after a 98-day exercise. The over 2,000-page report indicates that a large structure dating back to the Paramara period (9th to 13th centuries) existed at the site before the mosque, and that parts of temples were reused in the present complex.The Muslim side has questioned the ASI survey and rejected the Hindu side’s claim that the site was originally a temple, alleging that certain materials included in the survey were “introduced from the backdoor.”
