Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 (GS Paper 2, Governance)
Background
- The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 was enacted by the government of P.V. Narasimha Rao in response to the growing tensions surrounding religious disputes in India, particularly following the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi conflict.
- The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other Hindu organizations raised similar concerns regarding the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi and the Shahi Idgah in Mathura.
- In September 1991, the law was introduced to freeze the status of places of worship as they stood on August 15, 1947.
- Notably, the Babri Masjid dispute was excluded from the purview of this Act due to ongoing litigation.
About Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991
The Act aims to prohibit the conversion of any place of worship and to maintain the religious character of such sites as they existed on August 15, 1947. The law states that no place of worship should be converted into a site for a different religious denomination or sect. The exemptions from the Act include:
- The disputed Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya, which was excluded due to its ongoing legal dispute.
- Ancient and historical monuments protected under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.
- Settled disputes or places where the conversion happened before the Act came into force.
Criticism of the Act
The law has faced criticism on several fronts:
- It has been challenged for barring judicial review, which is seen as a violation of the constitutional right to access courts.
- Critics argue that it imposes an arbitrary and retrospective cutoff date, infringing on the rights of Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs.
Status of Ongoing Cases
Gyanvapi Mosque:
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- In 2022, a suit was filed by Hindu women worshippers in the Varanasi district court, seeking the right to worship deities, including Ma Sringar Gauri, Ganesh, Hanuman, and other deities believed to be present at the Gyanvapi Mosque.
- The claim is that an old temple dedicated to Lord Vishweshwar existed at the site before the mosque's construction.
- The court's ruling so far has indicated that these suits are not barred by the Places of Worship Act, allowing for the survey of the premises by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
- The ASI's report has suggested the existence of a temple at the site before the mosque.
- The court has also allowed Hindu prayers at certain parts of the mosque, like a cellar on the premises.
Shahi Idgah Mosque in Mathura:
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- The Shahi Idgah Mosque is adjacent to the Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple and is at the center of a dispute claiming it was built over the birthplace of Lord Krishna.
- This dispute was previously settled in 1968, with a compromise where the Sri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan relinquished a portion of land to the Shahi Idgah Trust.
- New lawsuits challenge the 1968 agreement, claiming it was fraudulent and seek to transfer the entire land to the deity.
- The Allahabad High Court has taken up the matter and transferred all related cases to itself.
Why the Act Did Not Cover Gyanvapi and Shahi Idgah
In both the Gyanvapi and Shahi Idgah cases, the mosque committees argue that the Places of Worship Act should bar the lawsuits. However, the courts have ruled that the Act does not apply to these cases:
- In the Gyanvapi case, the court's reasoning is that the lawsuits assert the right to worship and do not seek to change the mosque's religious character.
- The Allahabad High Court has held that the Places of Worship Act does not prohibit examining the religious character of these places. It clarified that evidence must be examined to determine the religious character of a structure.
- In the Mathura case, the district court ruled that the 1968 compromise decree falls outside the Act’s scope because it was finalized before the Act came into force.
These ongoing cases demonstrate the complexity of applying the Places of Worship Act in contemporary disputes, with courts balancing historical, religious, and legal considerations
