The Muslim side on Wednesday complained to the Supreme Court that they have not been given land for offering ‘namaz’ adjacent to the Bhojshala complex at Dhar in Madhya Pradesh as directed by the court and that the land offered was 2 km away from the disputed site.

Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, representing the Muslim side, told a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant that the court had directed the state to provide an open space near the Bhojshala site for ‘namaz’.

The bench agreed to hear it on Friday even as Solicitor General Tushar Mehta assured the bench that he was personally looking into it and that it will be sorted out.

On July 14, the Supreme Court had refused to pass an interim order restoring the status quo ante at the disputed Bhojshala complex to allow Muslims to offer ‘namaz’ on Fridays alongside Hindu worship on designated days.

“Let us not pass any order which can cause tension,” CJI Kant had told senior advocates AM Singhvi and Ahmadi after they sought restoration of status quo ante on behalf of Muslim petitioners.

The refusal to order status quo ante means Hindus will continue to have exclusive access to the Bhojshala complex, to the exclusion of Muslims.

The bench had, however, ordered allocation of separate open space for Muslims adjacent to the disputed complex for Friday prayers as an ad hoc measure. It had also directed that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) shall not carry out any structural changes on the site without its permission.

The top court had issued notice to the Centre, Madhya Pradesh Government, Hindu Front for Justice and ASI on petitions challenging the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s verdict declaring the Bhojshala complex — an 11th-century archaeological monument — a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati.

Hindus believe the Bhojshala complex is a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, while Muslims call it Kamal Maula Mosque. The complex is protected by ASI.

In its May 15 verdict, the Madhya Pradesh High Court had quashed ASI’s April 7, 2003 order that allowed Muslims to offer ‘namaz’ inside the Bhojshala complex every Friday. The Muslim community may approach the Madhya Pradesh Government for the allotment of separate land in the district for the construction of a mosque, it had said.

Kamal Maula Mosque’s caretaker Qazi Moinuddin has challenged the May 15 order of the high court before the top court.

In its much-awaited verdict in the Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex dispute, the high court had said that there were indications of a Sanskrit teaching centre and a temple of Goddess Saraswati existing in Bhojshala.