A special bench of the Supreme Court will hear the petitions challenging the Places of Worship Act, 1991 on December 12.
The bench headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna comprises Justices Sanjay Kumar and KV Viswanathan.
The Act declared that the character of religious places up to August 15, 1947 would remain and no suit or action should be taken in any court in respect of disputes against encroachment of any religious property. This date.
Any such pending proceedings shall be dismissed and any proceedings filed after August 15, 1947 and before September 18, 1991 (when the Act came into existence) on the basis of conversion of religious places shall be prosecuted. Disposed of to maintain existing status on August 15, 1947.
Several petitions have challenged the Act on the grounds that it restricts the remedy of judicial review, a fundamental feature of the Constitution, and is therefore beyond the legislative competence of Parliament. The petitioner said that the Act also violated the principle of secularism.
“The result (of this Act) is that Hindu devotees cannot and will not be able to raise their grievances against the high arms of extremists by filing any suit in a civil court or by invoking the jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. The religious character of Hindus, temples, monasteries etc. is already encroached upon. 15 August 1947 and such illegal and barbaric action will continue forever,’ the petitioners said. Claimed in the case.
The Supreme Court had issued notice on the petitions and sought the Centre’s opinion on March 12, 2021. The hearing was then adjourned several times after requests from the Center for more time to respond. However, despite repeated postponements, the government has not been able to respond.