Supreme Court to Reassess Places of Worship Act amid Rising Tensions

The Supreme Court has set up a special bench to examine PILs challenging key aspects of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. The petitions claim the Act eliminates the right to judicial remedy for reclaiming places of worship. The review will address suits involving contested religious sites.

The Supreme Court has formed a special bench to review public interest litigations (PILs) that contest specific provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. This law prohibits the filing of lawsuits aiming to alter the character or reclaim places of worship from their status as of August 15, 1947.

A three-judge panel, led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, along with Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan, is scheduled to hear the case on December 12 at 3:30 pm. Key among the petitions is one filed by Ashwini Upadhyay, which challenges sections 2, 3, and 4 of the Act, arguing they remove the right to judicial remedy for revisiting historical claims to religious sites.

This case draws attention amid several court suits, such as those involving the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi and Shahi Idgah Mosque in Mathura. The Muslim community defending these sites cite the 1991 law to argue the inadmissibility of such claims, while opponents, including former Union minister Subramanian Swamy, call for the law to be revised or invalidated.

(With inputs from agencies.)