A special bench of the Supreme Court is hearing an array of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
On Thursday (December 12), a three-bench judge comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K.V. Viswanathan heard the matter.
The court was informed that 18 suits are currently pending across the country against 10 mosques or shrines.
Supreme Court’s direction
The Supreme Court directed all the trial courts in the country barring them from issuing any interim or final orders, including those permitting surveys, in ongoing cases disputing existing religious structures.
The bench also ruled that no new suits related to such claims can be registered while the Supreme Court is hearing challenges to the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
“As the matter is sub-judice before this court, we direct that while suits may be filed, no suits shall be registered or proceedings initiated until further orders. In pending cases, courts are restrained from passing any effective interim or final orders, including survey orders,” the bench said.
Petitions challenging the Act
Six petitions have been filed challenging the provisions of the Act.
The lead petition was filed in the Supreme Court by Ashwini Upadhyay in 2020, seeking the invalidation of Sections 2, 3, and 4 of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. Similar petitions have been filed challenging the statute, including by former Rajya Sabha MP Subramaniam Swamy.
The petitions have challenged that the law restricts the remedy of judicial review, a right recognized as a fundamental feature of the Constitution, by the Supreme Court, in its landmark judgment in Minerva Mills Ltd. & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors. (1980). Hence, it is beyond the legislative authority of Parliament.
The Act is also being challenged as a violation of the principle of secularism.
Pleas defending the Act
The Communist Party of India (Marxist), Maharashtra MLA Dr Jitendra Satish Awhad, RJD MP Dr Manoj Kumar Jha and VCK MP Thol Thirumavalan have filed interventions before the Supreme Court in the pleas challenging the Act. They have extended support to the 1991 Act, emphasizing on its critical role in maintaining communal harmony and fostering national unity.
The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind have also cited the five-judge Constitution bench ruling in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case to support the Act.
The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991
The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act was brought by Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao- led Congress government, during the peak of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple movement. The bill was tabled by SB Chavan in the Lok Sabha in August 1991 and was later passed on September 10, 1991. It received the Rajya Sabha’s assent two days later.
The provisions of the Act were enforced on July 11, 1991.
Petitioners allege that the law creates an “arbitrary and irrational retrospective cut-off date” of August 15, 1947, for maintaining the character of the places of worship or pilgrimage against encroachment done by “fundamentalist-barbaric invaders and law-breakers”.
The case will be heard amid ongoing lawsuits across various courts, including the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, and the Shahi Idgah Mosque in Mathura, claiming these structures were built after the destruction of ancient temples and seek permission for Hindus to pray at these sites.
Centre’s response
The Supreme Court directed the central government to issue a response to Upadhyay’s plea in March 2022.
However, the government has not filed a response yet.
