The Madhya Pradesh High Court has declared the Bhojshala–Kamal Maula complex in Dhar a Hindu temple, granting Hindus exclusive rights to worship there [1, 2].
This ruling resolves a protracted legal battle over the identity and ownership of the site. By establishing the complex as a temple, the court has shifted the legal status of the land and the religious access permitted within the premises [1, 2].
The decision effectively ends a shared-access arrangement that had been in place for years. Specifically, the court quashed a 2003 [3] Archaeological Survey of India circular that had previously allowed Hindu devotees to perform puja on Tuesdays and Muslim worshippers to offer namaz on Fridays [3].
Devotees have since begun offering prayers at the site following the verdict [2]. The complex, located in the Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh, had been the center of a dispute between those claiming it as a temple and those claiming it as a mosque [1, 2].
Under the new ruling, the exclusive rights granted to Hindu worshippers remove the previous rotation of religious activities. The court's determination focuses on the nature of the structure, and its historical and religious identity as a temple [1, 2].
“The Madhya Pradesh High Court has declared the Bhojshala–Kamal Maula complex in Dhar a Hindu temple.”
This ruling represents a significant legal shift in the management of contested religious sites in India. By overturning the 2003 shared-access compromise, the court has moved away from a model of coexistence at the site in favor of exclusive ownership based on the judicial determination of the structure's original identity.
