The Gyanvapi mosque case has once again brought the Places of Worship Act, 1991 into the limelight. A Varanasi court is hearing a petition by five Hindu women who claim there are idols of Hindu gods and goddesses in the Gyanvapi mosque complex.
The report of filming the Gyanvapi Masjid was submitted to the court on Thursday. The Supreme Court, which is hearing a petition by the mosque committee challenging the filming, has asked the Varanasi court to not pass any orders for now. The Supreme Court will hear the case on Friday.
Coming back to The Places of Worship Act, it was passed by the Narasimha Rao government to protect the ancient religious monuments amid the growing support for the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi movement. The Act was passed when BJP stalwart LK Advani's Rath Yatra had gained massive support. The law was introduced by then Union Home Minister Shankarrao Bhavrao Chavan to avoid any communal conflict over the rights or occupancy of any religious place. The Act came into force on July 11, 1991.
What is Places of Worship Act?
The Places of Worship Act prohibits the conversion of the religious character of a place of worship and to maintain the status quo as it was at the time of India's Independence. According to Section 4 (1) of the Act, the religious character of a place of worship existing on the 15th day of August, 1947 shall continue to be the same as it existed on that day
No fresh cases to be filed
The Act also mandated that any suit, appeal or other proceedings related to the conversion of the religious nature of the places of worship pending before the courts, tribunal or authority to be abated. Section 4(2) of the Act also stipulated that no fresh proceedings in such matters shall be initiated.
Restrictions on conversion of the religious place
The conversion of a religious place in any manner is prohibited under Section 3 of the Act. The religious place cannot be altered even to cater to a particular section of the religion. “No person shall convert any place of worship of any religious denomination or any section thereof into a place of worship of a different section of the same religious denomination or of a different religious denomination or any section thereof,” says Section 3.
Exception
However, the Act exempts any place of worship which is “an ancient monument, historical monument or an archaeological site”. Also, the monuments covered under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (24 of 1958) or any other law have been exempted from the restrictions under this Act.
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