Hindu group seeks to intervene in 1991 South Carolina houses of worship dispute

The 1991 Act prohibits conversion of any place of worship and provides for maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947. However, the dispute regarding Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid in Ayodhya remained. on the sidelines. its scope.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, on December 12, 2024, restrained the country’s courts until further orders from examining new claims and passing effective interim or final orders in those pending that sought to reclaim religious places, especially mosques and dargahs (a Muslim shrine).

The apex court is hearing around six petitions challenging various provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. There are also several allegations of intervention by some Muslim bodies seeking effective implementation of the law. The Hindu body, in its new plea, challenges the validity of sections 3 and 4 of the 1991 Act on various grounds. Article 3 of the law prohibits the conversion of places of worship, while Article 4 prohibits courts from considering disputes over the religious character of such places.

The petition alleged that these provisions validated places of worship established by “barbaric invaders” while infringing on the rights of Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs to reclaim and restore their sacred places. The samiti, based in Vrindavan and Varanasi, said the 1991 law undermined judicial authority by preventing courts from reviewing disputes, violating the basic structure of the Constitution.

“The law prevents judicial review, which is one of the fundamental aspects of the Constitution, thereby violating the basic structure of the Constitution of India,” he said. The law’s retrospective deadline of August 15, 1947, ignores historical injustices and denies communities the right to seek redress, he said.

The statement said the law restricted Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs from claiming places of worship and consequently infringed on their constitutional right to freedom of religion. On January 2, the top court agreed to examine a fresh petition by AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi seeking effective implementation of the Places of Worship Act, 1991 and ordered it to be tagged with pending cases on the issue while it was published the hearing on February 17.

The apex court, through its order dated December 12, 2024, effectively stayed proceedings in around 18 petitions filed by various Hindu parties seeking a study to determine the original religious character of 10 mosques, including Gyanvapi in Varanasi, Shahi Idgah Masjid in Mathura and Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal. where four people lost their lives in clashes.

Muslim bodies like Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind have sought strict implementation of the 1991 law to maintain communal harmony and preserve the current status of mosques, which Hindus seek to recover on the grounds that they were temples before the invaders They will destroy them.