In a huge win for the Hindu side, the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday declared that the disputed Bhojshala complex in Dhar district is a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, and the Centre and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) can decide on its administration and management.The HC’s Indore Bench also quashed the April 7, 2003, order of the ASI that allowed Muslims to offer namaz inside the Bhojshala complex every Friday.The Bench also said the Muslim community, which called the 11th century, ASI-protected monument Kamal Maula Mosque, may approach the state government for allotment of separate land in the district for construction of a mosque.In its much-awaited verdict in the Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex dispute, the HC observed that there were indications of a Sanskrit teaching centre and a temple of Goddess Saraswati existing in Bhojshala. In its order, the HC also referred to the principles laid down in the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute case.The HC accepted two PILs filed by the Hindu community and established the religious nature of the medieval-era monument as a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati. “The religious character of the disputed complex of Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque is established as a temple of Goddess Saraswati,” declared a Division Bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi.The court, citing the ASI’s scientific survey report on the disputed monument and other documents on record, stated that the structure was associated with King Bhoj of the Parmar dynasty, a Rajput kingdom that ruled the Malwa region of present-day central India between the 9th and 14th centuries.The HC stated that if the Maulana Kamaluddin Welfare Society, a party to the case from the Muslim side, applied for land allotment for the construction of a mosque in Dhar district, the state government could consider it in accordance with legal provisions. The Bench began regular hearing in the case on April 6 and reserved its decision on May 12.The HC heard the sensitive case against the backdrop of differing religious beliefs, historical claims, complexities of legal provisions and thousands of documents related to the disputed monument.During the hearing, petitioners from Hindu, Muslim and Jain communities presented detailed arguments and sought exclusive worship rights for their communities at the monument. After controversy arose over Bhojshala, the ASI issued an order on April 7, 2003, allowing Hindus to worship at the complex every Tuesday and permitting Muslims to offer namaz at the site every Friday. This was also challenged in the court by the Hindu side, which sought exclusive rights to worship at the complex. The Hindu party on Friday also filed a caveat in the Supreme Court, saying no orders be passed without hearing it on any appeal against the HC order.A prominent cleric, Waqar Sadiq, said the HC verdict would be challenged in the Supreme Court. Nearly 1,200 police personnel were deployed in and around the complex ahead of the HC ruling.The Hindu side claimed that coins, sculptures and inscriptions found by the ASI during its scientific survey proved the complex was originally a temple. However, the Muslim side argued in court that the ASI’s survey report was “biased” and prepared to support the claims of the Hindu petitioners. Refuting this, the ASI told the court the scientific survey process was carried out with the help of experts, including three from the Muslim community.The HC had ordered the ASI to conduct a scientific survey of the complex on March 11, 2024. The ASI began the survey on March 22 and, after a 98-day survey, submitted its report to the HC on July 15.