Overview
- A new public interest case by Salekh Chand Jain asserts the Bhojshala–Kamal Maula complex was a medieval Jain temple and gurukul and asks the court to allow Jain worship there.
- The petition argues that the idol identified by Hindu parties as Vagdevi matches Jain Yakshini Ambika, citing museum descriptions, iconography with miniature Tirthankara figures, and records from the British Museum.
- The Madhya Pradesh government told the court that a 1935 Dhar princely 'ailaan' declaring the site a mosque has no legal force because it was not a lawmaking act and arose from a law‑and‑order response.
- Hindu petitioners countered that inscriptions and ASI materials show a temple at the site, pointing to an inscription stating King Bhoj consecrated a statue of Vagdevi, and they argued the Places of Worship Act does not govern a monument protected under the AMASR Act.
- Hearings continue before the Indore bench with multiple Hindu, Muslim, and Jain petitions pending, while the ASI’s 2003 arrangement still limits worship to Hindu puja on Tuesdays and Muslim namaz on Fridays and the Supreme Court has already ordered the ASI survey unsealed and shared with all sides.