Petition, claim and politics… What is the Places of Worship Act 1991 on which the Supreme Court will hear?

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear on December 12 the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Places of Worship Act 1991. A bench headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Sanjeev Khanna will hear the petition filed in this case. Petitions seeking to conduct surveys at several mosques and Muslim religious places across the country have been filed in recent days. It has been claimed in these petitions that these buildings were built by demolishing Hindu temples. Recently a new controversy came to light regarding the Shahi Jama Masjid of Sambhal, UP. This controversy has come to light at many places, from Ajmer Sharif Dargah to Shahi Jama Masjid of Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh. This is similar to cases like Gyanvapi Masjid and Shahi Idgah of Mathura. These petitions and controversies have reignited the debate on the Places of Worship Act 1991 (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 and its interpretation.

What is the Places of Worship Act 1991?
In 1991, the Congress government of the then Prime Minister of the country PV Narasimha Rao enacted the Places of Worship Act. This law says that the place of worship of any religion which came into existence before 15 August 1947 cannot be converted into any other place of worship. The Places of Worship Act 1991 was brought in by the Narasimha Rao-led Congress government amid rising communal tensions during the height of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. This was part of the Congress’s 1991 election manifesto. The then Home Minister S.B. Chavan had introduced this bill in the Lok Sabha. Introducing the bill, Chavan had said, “I am sure that the enactment of this bill will go a long way in helping to restore communal harmony and goodwill. When the Congress government brought it, it was opposed by the BJP in Parliament. BJP had demanded to send this matter to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) but even then this law was passed.

What things are mentioned in which section of the Places of Worship Act?
Section 3 of the Places of Worship Act prohibits the transfer of any place of worship wholly or partly from one religious sect to another or to different sections of the same sect. Section 4(1) ensures that the religious identity of a place of worship remains unchanged from its status on August 15, 1947.

Section 4(3) excludes ancient and historical monuments, archaeological sites and the ancient monuments and archaeological sites of 1958. It also does not apply to disputes that have already been settled or resolved by mutual consent. Section 5 stated that this Act would not apply to the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case or any legal proceedings relating thereto, which ultimately led to the construction of the Ram Temple.

Where did the mention of former Chief Justice come from?
Congress remains firm on its stand regarding this. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh recently targeted former Chief Justice DY Chandrachud over the lower court decisions related to Sambhal and Ajmer Sharif. Jairam Ramesh said that the oral comments made by Chandrachud on May 20, 2022 have opened a Pandora’s box (never-ending controversy). In the Gyanvapi Masjid controversy, the Supreme Court had made an oral comment in 2022 that places of worship do not prevent religious places from being identified.