Explained: Places of Worship Act, 1991; Know the contentious law

The Act, which has been in effect since July 11, 1991, prevents the conversion of houses of worship. It preserves "religious character of any place of worship as it was on August 15, 1947."

The legal tussle over the Gyanvapi Mosque complex has shifted from Varanasi to New Delhi with the Supreme Court taking up hearing a plea on the matter. A bench led by Justice DY Chandrachud started hearing the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee's petition. The three-day videography inspection of Varanasi's Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Mosque complex finished on Monday.

The plea was submitted by the Committee of Management Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, which claimed that the Varanasi court ruling is "clearly interdicted" by the Places of Worship Act, 1991.

Here's all about the Places of Worship Act

The Act, which has been in effect since July 11, 1991, prevents the conversion of houses of worship. It preserves "religious character of any place of worship as it was on August 15, 1947."

Section 2 stipulates that any appeal or other procedure ongoing before any court, tribunal, or other body regarding the conversion of religious character of any house of worship existing on August 15, 1947 "must abate." 

Any legal processes that were underway at the time the Act was passed "must be disposed with."

Section 3 of the Act makes it illegal to convert houses of worship. The Act states that no one shall "change any house of worship of any religious denomination or any portion thereof into a different section of the same religious denomination or of a different religious denomination or any sector thereof." This Section further states that "the religious nature of a house of worship existing on August 15, 1947 must continue to be the same as it existed on that day."

Shankarrao Bhavrao Chavan, the then-home minister in the PV Narasimha Rao Cabinet, presented the Bill to avert communal clashes in the country as the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign gained traction.