The Congress party moved an intervention petition before the Supreme Court which has been hearing petitions seeking scrapping of some sections of the Places of Worship Act enacted in 1991. It sought the effective implementation of this very law- as has already been done by the rest of the opposition which includes Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen.
The Supreme Court had agreed to hear Owaisi’s plea earlier this month and scheduled the hearing on February 17 along with other similar petitions.
The Congress petition was filed by senior leader KC Venugopal and stressed that the law was needed when it was originally passed by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government. Former Home Minister SB Chavan had spoken about the “alarming rise of intolerance” among some groups when he introduced the legislation.
Now, the Congress has joined a number of opposition parties, including Tamil Nadu’s ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, in pressing for the enforcement of a key provision barring the filing of lawsuits aimed at reclaiming places of worship or changing their character as it stood on August 15, 1947.
In its petition, the Congress has contended that the law is necessary to preserve the secular character of Indian society and that any amendments will put communal harmony in jeopardy. The party said the law represents the “mandate of the Indian people” and that contemporary challenges represent a “motivated and malicious attempt” to undermine established principles of secularism.
The Supreme Court had earlier stayed, on December 12, all surveys of places of worship, including mosques, ordered by courts below. Those will also now be covered under the blanket ban. These include the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, the Shahi Idgah Masjid in Mathura, and a mosque in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, which are at the centre of demands by Hindu petitioners who claim that these mosques have been built over the ruins of temples.
The court said it could not proceed further without the government’s response, thereby delaying proceedings in 18 lawsuits filed by various Hindu groups seeking surveys to determine the original religious character of 10 mosques, including those in Varanasi, Mathura, and Sambhal.
A special bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna is hearing six petitions, including one filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay, who seeks to quash three sections of the Places of Worship Act, especially the section that prohibits converting a place of worship from one faith to another.
In November, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the government, had told the court that a detailed affidavit would be filed to deal with all aspects of the case. He sought more time to ensure that the affidavit gets vetted at different levels of the government.
