The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked Madhya Pradesh High Court to consider the objections raised by the Muslim side to the Archaeological Survey of India's inspection of the disputed Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque premises in Dhar district, which includes videography and clicking of colour photographs.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant passed the order after hearing senior advocate Salman Khurshid appearing for Maulana Kamaluddin Welfare Society, additional solicitor-general K.M. Natraj representing the state government and advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain appearing for the Hindu Front for Justice.
At the centre of the dispute is the 11th-century ASI-protected monument that the Hindus insist was a temple dedicated to Saraswati before it was destroyed by the Mughals. The Muslim claimants maintain that it is the Kamal Maula Mosque.
The title dispute is pending before the high court, which had earlier directed the ASI to conduct a scientific survey and submit a sealed-cover report of the findings.
Under an ASI-mandated treaty, Hindus have been worshipping at the site on Tuesdays and Muslims on Fridays since 2003.
On Wednesday, Khurshid raised concerns regarding the accessibility of evidence.
"We have raised several objections. We request that the videography be handed over and colour photographs of the survey be provided so we can properly frame our objections," he said.
The bench, which included Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, noted that the high court had already addressed the procedural timeline for these objections.
Justice Bagchi observed that while some objections were listed in the survey report, others were yet to be addressed.
He noted that the videography would be played in court, allowing all parties to contest its correctness.
Jain told the bench that the high court would take up the matter on Thursday.
Without going into the merits of the issue, the apex court emphasised that all objections regarding the survey must be heard by the high court in accordance with the principles of natural justice.
"The high court shall, accordingly, take an appropriate decision on the objections, including those which are found arising from the videography," the bench said.
"All the issues are left open to be adjudicated by the high court. The parties may, accordingly, raise their respective contentions before the high court," the bench added.
On March 16, a high court bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi had set April 2 for the regular hearing of the petitions related to the disputed complex and said it would inspect the site. The two judges examined the complex on March 28.
On January 22, the top court had ruled that both Hindus and Muslims could offer prayers at separate earmarked places within the compound of the disputed monument on Friday, January 23, which coincided with Basant Panchami.