SC tags Owaisi plea for Places of Worship Act enforcement with pending cases
This story was originally published at 12:16 IST on 2 January 2025
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NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court on Thursday tagged a petition filed by All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi seeking implementation of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, with other pending cases and said it will hear the matter on Feb. 17. Other petitions in the matter included one by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay, and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind.
On Dec. 12, the bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna had directed that though fresh suits may be filed disputing the religious character of places of worship, no suits will be registered, and no proceedings shall be undertaken therein till further orders are passed. Further, with regard to pending suits, no court will pass any effective interim orders or final orders, including orders directing surveys, till the next date of hearing or further orders, the top court had said.
The Supreme Court's order has stalled proceedings in about 18 suits filed by several Hindu groups to ascertain the original religious character of several Muslim shrines, including the Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura, the Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi, and the Jama Masjid in Sambhal, all in Uttar Pradesh.
The court had further said that the primary issue was with regard to Sections 3 and 4 of the 1991 Act and its contours, as well as the width and expanse of those provisions. While Section 3 prohibits the conversion of a place of worship from one religion or sect to another, Section 4 declares that the religious character of a place of worship will be the same as it was on Aug. 15, 1947. The sole exception allowed was the then disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case in Ayodhya. Section 4 also prevents courts from determining if a place of worship has been converted after that date. End
Reported by Surya Tripathi
Edited by Tanima Banerjee
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