The court has granted permission for the filing of an intervention petition with fresh grounds even though it denied issuing notice on the new petitions so far submitted. New Delhi: Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna has indicated his annoyance with heaps of new petitions submitted in the case involving the Places of Worship Act, 1991, which prevents a suit from being filed to recover a place of worship or alter its character.
Enough is enough. There has to be an end to this,” he stated in a hearing this morning and claimed that the Supreme Court will not entertain any new petition in this case. The court, nevertheless, permitted the filing of an intervention petition with fresh grounds though it declined to give notice on the new petitions filed hitherto.
The Supreme Court’s stern observations came while it was going on hearing petitions challenging the validity of the Places of Worship Act, which takes on importance in light of the legal attempts to restore demolished Hindu temples.
Read: “People’s Mandate”: Congress Files Top Court Plea In Places Of Worship Case The legislation was enacted in 1991 to prohibit alteration of the religious nature of a place of worship as it stood on August 15, 1947. The Ram Janmabhoomi controversy was beyond its scope.
The original petition on the law’s validity was filed by Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, but the court last year halted proceedings into 18 lawsuits by Hindu parties seeking to reclaim 10 mosques and tagged together all matters related to temple-mosque disputes. This includes the Shahi Idgah-Krishna Janmbhoomi, Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi mosque, and Sambhal mosque disputes.
The step witnessed various opposition parties rushing to the apex court in support of the legislation while Hindu organizations and right-wing groups opposed it.
