Overview
- The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has heard the case day to day since April 6, starting with arguments from Hindu petitioners.
- In the latest sessions, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain cited the court-ordered 2024 ASI survey and older ASI publications to argue a temple predated the mosque, and the bench let him highlight parts of the report after objections.
- Petitioner Kuldeep Tiwari’s counsel, Manish Gupta, said Bhojshala was founded by Raja Bhoj and asked the court to allow only Hindu prayers, round-the-clock access, and the return of a Saraswati idol kept in London.
- Intervenors from the Muslim side rejected the temple-origin claim and questioned the ASI survey, alleging some material was introduced improperly.
- The ASI’s 98-day study reported evidence of a Paramara-era structure and reused temple elements, a finding now central to the court’s review of the site known to Hindus as Bhojshala and to Muslims as the Kamal Maula mosque.