The Allahabad High Court ruled that the Places of Worship Act, 1991, does not prevent the State from acquiring religious properties for secular public purposes. Dismissing a plea against Varanasi’s Dalmandi redevelopment, the Court upheld the government’s authority to undertake lawful public infrastructure projects.
Congress leaders Alok Sharma and Priya Mishra have petitioned the Supreme Court to bar courts from allowing surveys of religious sites, citing the Place of Worship Act of 1991. The petition seeks to uphold the Act’s provisions regarding religious structures’ status as of August 15, 1947, amid ongoing communal tensions and legal challenges surrounding it.
