Dhar Bhojshala case: HC grants more time to central and state government to submit reply

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The Indore Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court has granted more time to the central government, archaeological department, state government, Maulana Kalamuddin Welfare Society and Maharaja Bhoj Seva Sansthan to file their replies in the Dhar Bhojshala case.

Previously, they were supposed to submit their reply till Thursday. When the hearing was held, the respondents requested for more time to submit their replies. The court granted them time and fixed the next date of hearing on July 15.

Hearing in the Dhar Bhojshala case was held in the high court on Thursday. The central government, archaeological department, Maulana Kalamuddin Welfare Society, Maharaja Bhoj Seva Sansthan and the state government were to respond to the petition, but none of the parties responded. Giving time, the court extended the hearing. The next hearing will be on July 15.

Four PILs in the Dhar Bhojshala case were already under consideration in the high court. In the second week of May, a fresh petition was filed in this matter by the Hindu Front for Justice. Describing the Dhar Bhojshala as a holy place for Hindus, it demanded that Muslims should be stopped immediately from offering namaaz at the Bhojshala and Hindus given the right to regular worship.

It has also been claimed in the petition that, every Tuesday, Hindus sanctify it by performing a yagya at the Bhojshala and, on Friday, Muslims defile them by spitting in the same Yagya Kunds in the name of holding namaaz. Hearing the petition on May 11, 2022, the high court’s double Bench issued notice to all the parties and sought their responses. None of the respondents submitted their reply on Thursday.

One petition withdrawn

On Thursday, one of the petitioners, himself, withdrew his PIL going on since 2016 in the Dhar Bhojshala case. Advocate Manish Yadav, appearing for the petitioner, said the issue was almost the same in all the petitions going on in the high court regarding Dhar Bhojshala. “Therefore, we’ve withdrawn our petition,” he said.

Decades-old controversy

The Bhojshala controversy is decades-old. Hindus say this place is the temple of Goddess Saraswati. “Centuries ago, Muslims broke its sanctity and built the tomb of Maulana Kamaluddin here. The British took the statue of Vagdevi in ​​Bhojshala to London,” the Hindus claim. At present, the administration has made temporary arrangements that, every Tuesday, Hindus will worship at the Bhojshala and, on Fridays, Muslims will offer namaaz. There is also a demand for excavation and videography of the Bhojshala premises in the petition.