Supreme Court seeks Centre's reply on law barring conversion of places of worship

Supreme Court seeks Centre's reply on law barring conversion of places of worship

Any decision by the Apex Court on the PIL under consideration may have a direct impact on similar suits pending before various courts and will have a far-reaching impact

The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the central government seeking its response on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that has challenged the constitutional validity of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.

The Act in question mandates that the nature of all places of worship shall be maintained as it was on 15 August 1947 and that no encroachment of a place of worship before this cut-off date can be challenged in courts.

The Apex Court issued a notice in this regard on 12 March 2021.

The PIL has challenged Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Act, which deal with defining "conversion" and putting a "bar of conversion of places of worship."

The plea states that the Act has denied Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs their rights to reclaim their places of worship and validates their places of worship illegally encroached in the past by "barbaric invaders."

The plea prays for the said sections to be declared unconstitutional and thus void.

The PIL has also questioned the rationale behind the 15 August 1947 cut-off date as it contravenes Article 14 (right to equality), Article 15 (right against discrimination), Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty), Article 25 (right to profess, practice and propagate religion), Article 26 (right to manage, maintain and administer places of worship), and Article 29 (right to conserve culture) of the Indian Constitution.

The Act provided the sole exception to the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, which was recently decided by the Supreme Court in favor of Hindus.

Multiple civil suits are currently pending before various courts seeking removal of the Gyanvapi mosque of Varanasi and the Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura, claiming they were built after demolishing temples during the Mughal period.

Besides the disputed Ayodhya site, the Hindu community leaders have long been demanding the removal of the two Islamic constructions adjoining their sacred places of worship on Varanasi and Mathura. They claim the Shahi Idgah mosque at Mathura stands on the birth site of another Hindu deity Lord Krishna.

Any decision by the Apex Court on the PIL under consideration may have a direct impact on similar suits pending before various courts and will have a far-reaching impact.