Supreme Court Halts Legal Actions on Religious Sites Amidst Places of Worship Act Challenge

The Supreme Court has placed a temporary hold on legal proceedings involving religious sites, preventing new suits and orders in pending cases as it evaluates challenges against the Places of Worship Act, 1991. This decision temporarily restricts the registration of lawsuits regarding religious structures across India.

In a significant move, the Supreme Court on Thursday restrained courts nationwide from taking action on existing or new lawsuits concerning religious structures. The ruling, issued by the bench, includes Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices PV Sanjay Kumar and KV Viswanathan, and prevents any interim or final orders while the court hears challenges to the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act of 1991.

This act disallows filing lawsuits to reclaim or change the nature of religious sites from what it was on August 15, 1947. Currently, 18 suits are challenging the existence of 10 mosques or shrines. The bench has also provided the government with four weeks to respond to the petitions contesting certain features of the Act, arguing that it violates constitutional rights of various religious communities.

The legal challenge has drawn intervention from numerous Hindu representatives who argue that allowing proceedings against the Act could spark a surge of lawsuits against many mosques in the country. On the other hand, critics assert that the 1991 law discriminates against Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs in reclaiming and maintaining their places of worship and infringes upon constitutional freedoms.

(With inputs from agencies.)