Bhojshala complex case: Don’t succumb to bullying, Muslim side tells Madhya Pradesh government in SC

Published 29 July 2026 · india

The Muslim side in the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula mosque complex dispute urged the Madhya Pradesh government in the Supreme Court to “not succumb to bullying” when

The Muslim side in the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula mosque complex dispute urged the Madhya Pradesh government in the Supreme Court to “not succumb to bullying” when the State voiced apprehension over “law and order” to a suggestion that land belonging to a dargah nearby could be allotted as an alternative site for offering Friday namaz (prayers). Also read | Bhojshala complex case: Supreme Court suggests temporary prayer space for Muslims until case decided In a brief oral exchange before a Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Wednesday (July 29, 2026), senior advocate Huzeifa Ahmadi, representing the Muslim petitioners, including the mosque’s caretaker Qazi Moinuddin, said the district administration had currently allotted land 1.3 km away from the disputed complex. On July 14, the Supreme Court had directed the State authorities to identify an open space near the disputed complex where members of the Muslim community could offer Friday namaz between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. as an interim arrangement till the dispute was decided finally.

“Your order was very clear. It said ‘near and adjacent’ [to the disputed complex]. I had identified four sites both near and adjacent. But the site offered is 1.3 km away. The Collector has passed an order saying ‘I will only allot this site’,” Mr. Ahmadi submitted. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the government, updated that there had been another “discussion”, and an alternative site was identified. But Mr. Ahmadi persisted, saying that he had received instructions in court that even the “alternative site is also far away and is part of some brewery”. “There is the Bhojshala site. Next to it is a dargah. The dargah has land right there. We will pray there,” Mr. Ahmadi said. But Mr. Mehta said there was a “law and order issue”. “You cannot really succumb to bullying by one particular side.

There are four parcels of open land right there. They could allocate…” Mr. Ahmadi reacted. The top law officer suggested an issue with the “geographical position… on the entry and exit”. On May 15, the Madhya Pradesh High Court ruled that the disputed Bhojshala-Kamal Maula mosque complex in Dhar district was a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati. It had simultaneously quashed a decades-old Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) order that had allowed the Muslim community to offer Friday prayers at the site. The High Court had allowed that the Centre and the ASI could decide on the Bhojshala complex’s administration and management. The Hindu community considers the Bhojshala a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, while the Muslim side considers the 11th century monument the Kamal Maula mosque. The disputed complex is protected by the ASI.