1991 places of worship law: The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a plea of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, seeking the enforcement of the 1991 Places of Worship law, which mandates maintaining the religious character of a place as it stood on August 15, 1947.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief filed the plea on December 17, 2024, through advocate Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi.
Bench to hear plea on February 17
A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, along with Justice Sanjay Kumar, directed that Asaduddin Owaisi's fresh plea be tagged with pending cases on the issue. The bench scheduled the matter for a hearing on February 17 alongside the other cases.
At the outset, lawyer Nizam Pasha, appearing for Owaisi, the president of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), said that the court is seized of various pleas on the issue and the fresh one may be tagged with them as well. “We will tag this,” the CJI said.
On December 12, however, the bench headed by the CJI, while acting on a batch of similar pleas against the 1991 law, restrained all courts from entertaining fresh suits and passing any interim or final orders in pending cases seeking to reclaim religious places, particularly mosques and dargahs.
The special bench was hearing about six petitions, including the lead one filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay, challenging various provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
Owaisi after SC considers plea
After the Supreme Court agreed to consider a plea, Owaisi said he hope that the court’s own "principle of non-retrogression: will be enforced in letter and spirit.
In an X post, he said, "I had submitted a petition to the Supreme Court seeking enforcement of the Places of Worship Act, 1991. The SC has tagged the petition today. I hope that the Court’s own "principle of non-retrogression: will be enforced in letter and spirit. Advocate @MNizamPasha appeared for us."
1991 law prohibits conversion of any place of worship
The 1991 law prohibits the conversion of any place of worship and mandates the preservation of its religious character as it existed on August 15, 1947.
In his plea, Owaisi has sought a direction to the Centre to ensure the effective implementation of the law. He also referred to instances where various courts had ordered surveys of mosques based on petitions filed by Hindu litigants.
The Places of Worship Act was introduced in 1991 during the Congress government when PV Narasimha Rao was the Prime Minister, and the Ram Temple-Babri Masjid dispute matter was at its peak. This law was passed in response to growing temple-mosque disputes across the country, which were creating a tense environment. The law stipulates that religious structures in India should remain as they were in 1947, and no one can alter their original form or make claims over them. Any petition seeking to alter or remove such a religious site will be dismissed. Violating this rule could lead to a fine or imprisonment for up to three years.
(With PTI inputs)
Also Read: Places of Worship Act: 'No fresh suit to be filed', what did Supreme Court say?
