SC allows Hindus, Muslims to offer prayers at Bhojshala on Basant Panchami
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has allowed Hindu prayers from sunrise to sunset on Basant Panchami on Friday at the disputed Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district, while permitting Muslims to offer namaz from 1 pm to 3 pm on the day.
The top court on Thursday also directed that a list of persons from the Muslim community coming for namaz be given to the district administration.
Hindu and Muslim groups have sought nod for religious activities at the Bhojshala complex on January 23, a Friday when Saraswati Puja will also be held on the occasion of Basant Panchami.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi made an appeal to both sides to observe mutual respect and cooperate with the state and district administration for maintenance of law and order.
"ASG as well as Advocate General have fairly suggested that, after knowing that how many persons belonging to Muslim community are likely to come tomorrow for namaz between 1 to 3 pm, an exclusive and separate space within the same compound/ premises shall be made available, so that the namaz can be performed at the prescribed time.
"Similarly, a separate space, as per the past practice, shall be made available to the Hindu community to hold the traditional ceremonies on the occasion of Basant Panchami," the bench said.
It directed the district administration to make law and order arrangements at the site for offering of prayers.
"The district administration may, with a view to ensure maintenance of law and order, issue appropriate passes, free of cost, for the visitors or may adopt any other fair measures to ensure that no untoward incident takes place and the rituals are performed peacefully," the bench said.
Hindus consider Bhojshala, an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)-protected 11th-century monument, to be a temple dedicated to Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati), while the Muslim community calls it Kamal Maula mosque.
Under an arrangement made by the ASI on April 7, 2003, Hindus perform puja on the Bhojshala premises on Tuesdays and Muslims offer 'namaz' in the complex on Fridays.
The top court was hearing a plea filed by the Hindu Front for Justice seeking exclusive rights for Hindus to offer prayers on Basant Panchami.
The plea filed through advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain was mentioned for urgent hearing on Tuesday.
Jain had said the ASI's 2003 order does not address situations where Basant Panchami coincides with Friday prayers and sought exclusive, uninterrupted worship rights for Hindus for the entire day on Basant Panchami.
During the hearing, Jain submitted that there will be pujas and havans from sunrise to sunset and sought permission for worship throughout the day.
Senior advocate Salman Khurshid, for the mosque committee, submitted that the Friday namaz takes place between 1 PM and 3 PM, and the premises can be vacated after that.
Khurshid, while accepting this proposal, stated that the approximate number of persons belonging to Muslim community, who will come for namaz tomorrow will be furnished to the District Magistrate.
Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, for the Centre and ASI assured the court that the district administration will take care of the law and order situation.
The top court also disposed of an appeal filed by the Maulana Kamaluddin Welfare Society challenging the March 11, 2024 order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on the “scientific survey” of the complex
The apex court directed the high court that the matter may be taken up by a division bench headed by one of the senior-most judges of the high court.
Noting that ASI has completed the scientific survey and has submitted its report in a sealed cover to the high court, the top court directed the high court to unseal the report and be supplied to the parties, who can file objections to it.
"If such part cannot be copied, the parties may be allowed to inspect in presence of their counsels. Let objections be filed and thereafter case be taken for final hearing.
"Till the writ is finally decided, the parties shall maintain status quo at the site. However, parties shall continue to follow and abide by ASI order of April 2023," the bench said.
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Governor's move an insult to assembly, will protest his unconstitutional action: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has criticised Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot for not skipping the Cabinet-approved address and reading his version of the address at the first joint session of the year, alleging that the move violated constitutional provisions and amounted to an insult to the elected legislature.
Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot addressed the joint session of the state legislature on Thursday, but read only three lines of the government’s prepared speech before leaving the House. A day earlier, he had refused to address the session.
Speaking to reporters at Vidhana Soudha on Thursday on the Governor’s shortened address to both Houses of the legislature, he said, “As per the Constitution, it is the Governor’s duty to address the joint session held at the beginning of every year and when a new government is formed.”
He said that under Articles 176 and 163 of the Constitution, the Governor is required to read the address prepared by the Cabinet, a practice that has been followed since the Constitution came into force.
“By delivering a speech drafted by himself, the Governor had violated constitutional provisions and insulted the Assembly of elected representatives,” the Chief Minister alleged.
The Chief Minister highlighted that the Congress party and the state government would protest what he termed an unconstitutional act and that agitations had been planned across the state.
He alleged that the Governor had acted as the “puppet” of the Centre, accusing the Central government of using the Governor to deliver a different address to cover up its own failures, and said the Governor had not fulfilled his constitutional duty.
He further alleged that the Centre had repealed the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and introduced a new scheme called ‘VB-G RAM G’, a move strongly opposed by the state government. He said the first step taken by the Centre was to remove Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the Act.
Recalling the Congress-led UPA government’s initiatives, Siddaramaiah said that during Manmohan Singh’s tenure as Prime Minister in 2005, landmark legislations such as the Right to Food, Right to Information, Right to Education and Right to Employment were implemented in line with constitutional principles.
He added that the employment guarantee programme, aimed at providing at least 100 days of work to the rural poor, continues to benefit Dalits, labourers, women and small farmers.
He claimed that under the Centre’s new Act, job security for beneficiaries had been weakened, particularly affecting women and Dalits, who together formed a large share of those employed under the earlier scheme. He said the previous law allowed small farmers to take up work on their own land and ensured employment throughout the year, which was the government’s responsibility.
Siddaramaiah alleged that under the new arrangement, poor workers would be required to work at locations decided by the Central government. He also pointed out that earlier, Gram Sabha’s and Panchayats had the authority to prepare employment action plans, but this decentralised decision-making process had been removed under the new Act.
