The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) submitted its scientific survey report on the controversial Bhojshala Temple-Kamaal Maula Mosque structure in Madhya Pradesh to the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Monday.
ASI’s lawyer Himanshu Joshi submitted the report, which is of about 2000 pages, in the registry of the High Court.
Joshi said the HC would hear the case on Bhojshala Temple – Kamaal Maula Mosque on July 22.
The structure, located in the Dhar district of MP, has been a bone of contention between Hindus and Muslims for over many decades.
The Hindu community considers Bhojshala as a Temple of Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati), while the Muslim side calls it Kamaal Maula Mosque.
Following an arrangement made by the ASI in 2003, Hindus perform puja at the Bhojshala premises on Tuesdays, while the Muslims offer namaz in the complex on Fridays.
On March 11, the HC had ordered the ASI to conduct a ‘scientific survey’ of the complex, on an application by ‘Hindu Front for Justice’. It then gave six weeks to the ASI to complete the survey. The ASI later sought more time twice for the report submission.
On April 1, the Supreme Court refused to stay the ‘scientific survey’ of the Bhojshala by the ASI, but said no action should be taken without its permission on the outcome of the exercise.
The Apex Court direction came on a plea filed by the ‘Maulana Kamaluddin Welfare Society’ challenging the March 11 order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on the ‘scientific survey’.
On July 4, the Indore bench of HC ordered the ASI to present by July 15 the complete report of the nearly three-month-long survey on the premises, which the ASI had begun on 22 March.