New Delhi: The Madhya Pradesh High Court’s ruling declaring the Bhojshala complex in Dhar a temple dedicated to Goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati) has triggered a strong response from Muslim organisations, legal experts, and young voices across India. Leaders of major Muslim bodies have rejected the verdict, called it unconstitutional, and announced plans to challenge it in the Supreme Court.
The bench of Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi delivered the 242-page judgment on May 15, ending a decades-old arrangement that allowed Hindus to worship at the site on Tuesdays and Muslims to offer Friday namaz. The court based its ruling largely on a 2,000-page Archaeological Survey of India report submitted after a 98-day scientific survey in 2024.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board rejected the verdict, calling it “unacceptable” and announced that it would be challenged before the Supreme Court of India. In its statement, the Board said the High Court’s decision declaring the Bhojshala–Kamal Maula Mosque complex a Saraswati temple runs contrary to historical records, archaeological evidence, official documentation, and even the earlier position taken by the ASI itself.
Speaking at a press conference, Owaisi said “We consider this judgment erroneous because the Court ignored the 1935 Dhar State Gazette, 1985 Waqf registration, and also ignored the Places of Worship Act. The Court also ignored the ongoing civil dispute case of the title.”
He also wrote on X: “We hope the Supreme Court will set this right and overturn this order. Glaring similarities with the Babri Masjid judgment.”
He further stated “This judgment does not align with constitutional values. The verdict regarding the Babri Masjid–Ram Mandir dispute accorded primacy to a single religion while effectively undermining the worship rights of others.”
In the Babri Masjid–Ram Mandir verdict, the Supreme Court itself had affirmed the significance of the Places of Worship Act, linking it to the ‘Basic Structure’ of the Constitution, a principle that the Court appears to have completely disregarded today. The Places of Worship Act has been reduced to a mockery” He added.
The verdict also drew a strong response from young Muslim women. Aayesha Khatoon, a member of the Girls Islamic Organisation, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, said the ruling had disturbed what was a peaceful and functional shared arrangement at the site. She argued that the court had failed to appreciate the deeper meaning that such sites hold for communities.
“The High Court’s decision disturbs a long-standing peaceful arrangement where both communities worshipped at Bhojshala for decades. Reducing religious rights to mere relocation of space ignores the deep historical continuity, identity, and collective memory attached to the site. This verdict raises serious concerns about minority rights and the judiciary’s role in safeguarding India’s pluralistic democracy,” she told NNP.
From the campus of Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi, the verdict was met with disappointment and concern. Abrar Ahmed, an MA student at the university, said the ruling appears to follow the same trajectory as the Babri Masjid case and that its implications go far beyond the Bhojshala complex.
He said the Places of Worship Act, 1991 was enacted precisely to prevent such disputes from being reopened and that repeated verdicts of this nature weaken both the law and the constitutional promise of equal protection for all faiths. “As a student of Jamia Millia Islamia, I am deeply disappointed by the Bhojshala verdict. It appears to follow the Babri pattern and weakens the Places of Worship Act, 1991, which was meant to protect religious sites as they existed at Independence. This is not just about one mosque but about the constitutional identity of India and the protection of minority rights. We stand with the community’s decision to approach the Supreme Court,” he told NNP.
A day after the verdict, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind released a detailed report titled “A Critical Analysis of Babri Masjid Judgement and The Places of Worship Act 1991” at the Constitution Club of India in New Delhi, bringing together senior advocates, legal experts, former judges, and scholars from across the country.
Jamiat president Maulana Mahmood Asad Madani used his keynote address to place the Bhojshala verdict within a wider pattern of disputes that he said are eroding India’s secular foundations. He said studying the Babri Masjid verdict critically was essential so future generations understand how constitutional and academic arguments can be used to protect shared values.
Madani noted that the Supreme Court itself, in paragraph 788 of the Babri Masjid judgment, had acknowledged there was no conclusive evidence that the mosque had been built after demolishing a temple. Yet despite Muslims accepting that verdict with patience and restraint, fresh disputes over Gyanvapi, Mathura Eidgah, and now Kamal Maula Mosque kept emerging. “This has turned into a matter concerning India’s constitutional identity, judicial credibility, and the principles of justice,” he said.
Law Expert Calls for Dialogue Over Courts
Vice Chancellor of Chanakya National Law University Faizan Mustafa brought a measured academic perspective to the debate. He acknowledged that the Places of Worship Act, 1991 was designed to freeze the religious character of sites as they existed at independence, but cautioned that a law alone cannot do the heavy lifting without proper documentation and institutional support.
“The real gap lies in the preservation of historical records and legal status of religious sites, without which courts are left to rely on contested evidence. The courts had worked within established legal frameworks in the Babri Masjid case, He said”
Certain observations in that judgment remain open to academic debate. “What is truly needed is dialogue in resolving sensitive religious disputes rather than relying solely on judicial confrontation,” he said while talking to NNP.
What Happens Next
The Muslim side, backed by the AIMPLB and other organisations, is expected to file a petition in the Supreme Court in the coming days. Legal observers are watching closely to see whether the apex court grants a stay on the High Court verdict while the appeal is pending.
The Bhojshala complex, under ASI management since 1952, saw heavy security in the days after the verdict. Hindu devotees gathered at the site on May 16 to offer prayers, recite Hanuman Chalisa, and decorate the premises with marigold garlands, with around 1,200 police personnel deployed to maintain order.
The verdict, much like the Ayodhya judgment before it, has once again placed the question of India’s secular constitutional framework and the future of the Places of Worship Act at the centre of a heated national conversation.
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