AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi said the Madhya Pradesh High Court verdict regarding the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque dispute was erroneous.
The statement highlights a deepening legal and political conflict over the ownership of historical sites in India. The ruling impacts how courts balance archaeological claims against statutory protections and established land records.
Speaking from Hyderabad on Friday, May 15, 2024, Owaisi said the court overlooked critical documentary evidence [1]. He specifically cited the 1935 [1] Dhar State Gazette and a 1985 [1] Waqf registration as vital records that the court failed to consider.
Owaisi said the judgment also ignored the Place of Worship Act, which is intended to protect the religious character of sites as they existed prior to 1947. He argued that these legal safeguards and historic documents should have outweighed the findings that led to the current verdict [1].
"We consider this judgment erroneous," Owaisi said [1]. He noted that the court ignored the 1935 Dhar State Gazette, the 1985 Waqf registration, and the Place of Worship Act [1].
The dispute involves a complex civil battle over the title of the site in Madhya Pradesh. Owaisi said the court's decision to move forward despite the ongoing civil dispute and the existing statutory protections undermines the legal framework governing religious sites [1].
“"We consider this judgment erroneous."”
This challenge centers on the tension between archaeological interpretations of a site's origin and the legal primacy of the Place of Worship Act. By emphasizing the 1935 and 1985 records, Owaisi is arguing that documented administrative history should supersede judicial reinterpretations of a site's religious identity.
