Congress also filed a petition in the Supreme Court regarding the Places of Worship Act. Many petitions are already pending in this matter. These will be heard on 17th February. In its petition, Congress has described this law as necessary for the secular structure of India.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had issued an interim order on December 12 while hearing other petitions. In that order, courts across the country were asked not to order survey of religious places at present.
Earlier in this matter, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Marxist Communist Party i.e. CPM have also filed a petition in the Supreme Court to maintain the Places of Worship Act of 1991. CPM has opposed the cases being filed across the country claiming that mosques and dargahs are Hindu temples. The party called it a threat to secularism.
What is the Places of Worship Act?
The Places of Worship Act of 1991 says that the status of every religious place in the country as it was on August 15, 1947, cannot be changed. Many petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court challenging this law. It has been said in these petitions that this law deprives Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist communities from demanding their rights. It is the constitutional right of every citizen to bring any issue to the court, but the ‘Places of Worship Act’ deprives the citizens of this right. This is not only a violation of the fundamental right to get justice, but is also discrimination on religious grounds.
The petition filed through CPM Politburo member Prakash Karat has demanded that the Supreme Court should dismiss all the petitions challenging the Places of Worship Act. The party has said that this law is in accordance with the secular structure of India.
What order did the Supreme Court give in the last hearing?
The Supreme Court had made it clear in the last hearing that new cases can be filed regarding religious places, but the courts should not register them for hearing, nor take any action against them. No effective order including survey should be given even in the already ongoing cases.