On Thursday, the Supreme Court prohibited courts nationwide from admitting or issuing orders in any new lawsuit or plea that asks for a survey of mosques to ascertain if temples are beneath them.
When the supreme court heard arguments contesting the Places of Worship Act, it declared that, “No order of survey or any other effective order to be passed in existing suits as well”.
This Act forbids bringing legal action to retake houses of worship or alter their original characteristics from August 15, 1947.
The top court bench, which included Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justices PV Sanjay Kumar and KV Vishwanathan, contested the Places of Worship Act, arguing that it denies Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs the right to rebuild their “places of worship and pilgrimages” that had been destroyed. “We are examining vires, contours, and ambit of 1991 law on places of worship Act,” the bench said.
SC asks Centre to file reply within 4 weeks
A PTI report claims that the Supreme Court gave the Center four weeks to respond to the pleas and cross-examinations, and then gave the other parties an additional four weeks to respond.
After the pleadings were finished, the bench would grant the hearing.
In the meantime, the supreme court granted appeals from a number of parties, including Muslim organizations, who wanted to get involved in the case.
Ashwini Upadhyay submitted one of the six pleas that the highest court is considering, requesting that Sections 2, 3, and 4 of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 be overturned.
One of the many arguments put out was that these clauses deny any individual or religious organization the legal recourse to recover a place of worship.
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