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Supreme Court Refuses to Restore Friday Namaz at Bhojshala and Directs Madhya Pradesh to Provide Nearby Open Space

The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to restore Friday Namaz inside the Bhojshala complex and instead directed the Madhya Pradesh government to provide an open space next to the site for Muslims to pray on Fridays. The court agreed to hear the Muslim side’s appeal against the Madhya Pradesh High Court order that declared Bhojshala a temple.

By Open Vaartha Desk · 2026-07-14

TL;DR

The Supreme Court refused to allow Friday Namaz at Bhojshala and told Madhya Pradesh to arrange a nearby open space for Muslim prayers.

Key points

The Supreme Court refused to pass any interim order restoring Friday Namaz inside the Bhojshala complex and called the matter a sensitive issue requiring careful handling.
The court directed the Madhya Pradesh government to make available an open space next to the site where Muslims can offer Namaz on Fridays between 1 PM and 3 PM.
The court also ordered that the Archaeological Survey of India must not carry out any structural changes at the site without prior court permission.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court had in May 2026 declared Bhojshala a temple and cancelled the 2003 Archaeological Survey of India arrangement that had allowed Muslims to pray there on Fridays.

The Hindu community believes Bhojshala is a temple dedicated to Vagdevi, also known as Goddess Saraswati, and that it was originally built by the scholar king Raja Bhoj. The Muslim side maintains that the site has been functioning as the Kamal Maula Mosque for several centuries. The Archaeological Survey of India conducted a detailed 98 day scientific survey of the complex starting March 2024 and submitted a report of over 2,000 pages. The report indicated that a large structure from the era of the Parmar kings of Dhar existed before the mosque and that the current structure was built using components from an earlier temple.The Hindu side argues that coins, sculptures and inscriptions found during the survey confirm the site was originally a temple. The Muslim side has contested the survey report calling it biased and prepared to favour the claims of Hindu petitioners. The Supreme Court will now hear the full matter and both communities have been asked to maintain calm while the legal process continues.