Supreme Court To Hear Petition Challenging Places Of Worship Act In July

The Supreme Court on Wednesday posted for hearing in July a batch of petitions challenging certain provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provision) Act, 1991, that prohibit the filing of a lawsuit to reclaim a place of worship or seek a change in its character from what prevailed on August 15, 1947.

A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala directed that the matter shall be listed before a three-judge bench for a hearing in July.

At the outset, the apex court was informed that the Centre has not replied yet to the pleas.

The bench said the Central government may file its reply in the meantime.

On previous occasions also the top court had granted time to the Centre to file a response.

Earlier, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central government, had sought more time to file an affidavit in the case as he needs to do deliberation with the highest level in the government.

Dr Subramanian Swamy, former MP and BJP leader had told the bench that in his plea he was not seeking to set aside the Act but only two more temples need to be added and then the Act can remain as it is.

The pleas challenged the Places of Worship Act saying that the Act takes away the rights of Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs to restore their 'places of worship and pilgrimages', destroyed by invaders.

Daughter of the Kashi Royal Family, Maharaja Kumari Krishna Priya; BJP leader Subramanian Swamy; Chintamani Malviya, former Member of Parliament; Anil Kabotra, a retired army officer; advocates Chandra Shekhar; Rudra Vikram Singh, resident of Varanasi; Swami Jeetendranand Saraswati, a religious leader; Devkinandan Thakur Ji, resident of Mathura and a religious guru and advocate Ashwini Upadhyay among others have filed the pleas in the apex court against the 1991 Act.

The 1991 provision is an Act to prohibit conversion of any place of worship and to provide for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind had also filed a plea in the top court challenging the petitions filed by Hindu petitioners saying that entertaining the pleas against the Act will open floodgates of litigations against countless mosques across India.

India Muslim Personal Law Board had also moved the apex court opposing a batch of petitions challenging the validity of certain provisions of a 1991 law.

One of the pleas stated, "The Act excludes the birthplace of Lord Rama but includes the birthplace of Lord Krishna, though both are the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the creator and equally worshipped all over the world."

The pleas further stated that the Act blatantly offends the right of Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs to restore, manage, maintain and administer the places of worship and pilgrimage guaranteed under Article 26 of the Indian Constitution.

The petitions filed have challenged the constitutional validity of Sections 2, 3, and 4 of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991, which it said violates the principles of secularism and rule of law, which is an integral part of the Preamble and the basic structure of the Constitution.

The pleas said that the Act has taken away the right to approach the Court and thus right to judicial remedy has been closed.

Section 3 of the Act bars the conversion of places of worship. It states, "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."

Section 4 bars filing of any suit or initiating any other legal proceeding for a conversion of the religious character of any place of worship, as existing on August 15, 1947.

The Places of Worship Act 1991 is void and unconstitutional for many reasons, the plea said, adding that it offends the right of Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs to pray, profess, practice and prorogate religion (Article 25), the petitions said. It also infringes on their right to manage, maintain and administer the places of worship and pilgrimage (Article 26), pleas added.

The Act deprives these communities of owning/acquiring religious properties belonging to the deity (misappropriated by other communities) and also takes away the right to take back their places of worship and pilgrimage and the property which belongs to the deity, stated the pleas.

The Act further deprives Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs to take back their places of worship and pilgrimage connected with cultural heritage (Article 29) and it also restricts them to restore the possession of places of worship and pilgrimage but allows Muslims to claim under Section 107, Waqf Act, the pleas added.

"It is respectfully submitted that the Central Government by making impugned provision (Places of Worship Act 1991) in the year of 1991 has created arbitrary irrational retrospective cutoff date, declared that character of places of worship and pilgrimage shall be maintained as it was on August 15, 1947, and no suit or proceeding shall lie in the court in respect of the dispute against encroachment done by barbaric fundamentalist invaders and such proceeding shall stand abated," the PILs stated.

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