SC no to petition challenging worship Act, says several pleas pending

The Supreme Court on Tuesday turned down a law student’s petition challenging the validity of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which mandates maintaining the religious character of a place as it existed on August 15, 1947, saying it didn’t want to entertain multiple petitions on the same issue.

“This is the same plea. What’s the difference? Stop filing petitions and applications,” a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna said, dismissing the petition. The Bench, however, gave liberty to petitioner Nitin Upadhyay to file an application in the already pending petitions challenging the validity of the Act.

Contending that there’s a subtle difference between the earlier petitions and the present one, the petitioner’s counsel requested the Bench to tag it with the pending petitions for hearing.

“We are not inclined to interfere in the present petition under Article 32 of the Constitution,” the Bench said, giving him liberty to file an application in the pending matter.

Enacted by Parliament during the PV Narasimha Rao government in the backdrop of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir agitation, this Act freezes the religious character of a place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947, except that of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid, which was demolished by karsevaks on December 6, 1992. Following a Supreme Court verdict, a Ram temple has been constructed at Ayodhya.

However, with regard to other disputed religious sites, including the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah at Mathura and Kashi Vishwanath–Gyanvapi Mosque disputes, the Act continues to operate as a bar against any possible change in the character of the religious structures. Any place of worship, which is an ancient and historical monument or an archaeological site covered by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, is exempted from the purview of the Act.

Nation