Places of Worship Act: SC asks Centre to file affidavit by December 12 on pleas challenging its validity

The Supreme Court granted Centre more time to file an affidavit in response to the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Places of Worship Act, 1991, on Monday.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala directed the Centre to file the affidavit on or before December 12 and said that the matter would be taken up in the first week of January 2023. The court also directed that the matter be posted before a three-judge bench.

Subramanian Swamy, who also filed a petition, informed the court that he was not seeking to set aside the Act. He said two more temples must be added, and then the Act could stand.

The Centre was asked to file a replay to whether the Supreme Court constitution bench that heard the Ram Janmabhoomi case had already resolved the validity of the 1991 Act.

When the matter came up, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court that the central government could only take a position on the Act's challenge after consulting with higher-ups. Therefore, the SG requested that the case be listed in the first week of December as he was unable to have a detailed consultation with the government.

The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act of 1991 is "an Act to prohibit conversion of any place of worship and to provide for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15 1947, and for matters connected with or incidental to it," according to the Act's official description. Section 3 of the Act prohibits the conversion, in whole or in part, of any religious denomination's place of worship into a place of worship of a different religious denomination or even a different segment of the same religious denomination.

The Act was introduced by Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao's then-Congress government at a time when the Ram Temple movement was at its peak. 
 

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• CJI DY Chandrachud
• India news
• Places of Worship Act
• Supreme Court