By Maktoob
Clarifying its earlier interim order in the Kamal Maula mosque issue, the Supreme Court on Thursday directed that members of the Muslim community be allowed to offer Friday prayer’s between 1 pm and 3 pm on a specified plot of dargah land adjacent to the disputed Bhojshala complex.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohan heard an application filed by the Muslim side seeking an appropriate alternate site for Friday prayers after the Madhya Pradesh High Court declared the disputed Bhojshala premises to be a temple.
The High Court’s judgment has been challenged before the Supreme Court.
Earlier, while declining to restore the previous arrangement permitting prayers at the disputed site, the apex court had directed the Madhya Pradesh government to identify an alternate site near the Bhojshala complex for Friday namaz.
During Thursday’s hearing, Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the Muslim applicants, submitted that the site identified by the Collector was not sufficiently close to the disputed complex. He informed the Court that the allotted site was around 1.3 kilometres away by road and approximately 900 metres away in a straight line.
Ahmadi argued that several suitable parcels of land immediately adjoining the Bhojshala complex were available and that all of them were waqf properties.
He further submitted that the mutawalli had filed affidavits expressing no objection to the land being used for offering Friday prayers.
Taking the Bench through a site plan, he identified four possible locations, including dargah land adjoining the disputed premises, and argued that any of them would satisfy the Court’s earlier direction to provide an alternate site “near” Bhojshala.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.
