The petitions challenge the Supreme Court’s interim order of December 12, which barred courts across the country from passing any orders, including conducting surveys, on matters related to places of worship. This stay will remain in effect until the case is reviewed again, scheduled for February 17, 2025. The petitioners are seeking a modification of this directive.
NEW DELHI: Several new petitions have been submitted to the Supreme Court, seeking to vacate its earlier order that stayed the filing of fresh suits and conducting surveys in pending mandir-masjid disputes.
The petitions challenge the Supreme Court’s interim order of December 12, which barred courts across the country from passing any orders, including conducting surveys, on matters related to places of worship. This stay will remain in effect until the case is reviewed again, scheduled for February 17, 2025. The petitioners are seeking a modification of this directive.
The December 12 interim order was issued by a special bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K.V. Viswanathan.
The bench was hearing petitions related to the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which prohibits altering the religious character of places of worship as they stood on August 15, 1947.
While some petitions have challenged the constitutionality of the Act, others have advocated for its strict enforcement.
Several political entities, including the CPI (M), Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), NCP (Sharad Pawar group) MLA Jitendra Awhad, RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha, MP Thol Thirumavalavan, and AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi, have filed interventions supporting the Places of Worship Act.
The Supreme Court is hearing multiple pleas, including one by BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, seeking to annul Sections 2, 3, and 4 of the Act. Additionally, former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy has petitioned the court to “read down” certain provisions of the 1991 law to allow Hindus to claim the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi and Shahi Idgah Mosque in Mathura.
The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, has recently become a subject of intense public debate following violent incidents triggered by the survey of the Sambhal Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh. The lead petition in this matter, Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay v. Union of India, was originally filed in 2020, prompting the Supreme Court to issue a notice to the Union Government in March 2021. Since then, additional petitions have been filed challenging the validity of the Act.
In recent developments, various political parties, including the CPI(M), Indian Union Muslim League, DMK, RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha, and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) MLA Jitendra Awhad, have submitted intervention applications to safeguard the provisions of the Act.
The case is listed for a hearing on February 17, 2025.
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