PIL challenges bar in Places of Worship Act 1991 on religious character

On February 17, the apex court expressed displeasure over filing of several pleas on the 1991 Act and said a three-judge bench would in April hear the pending post-notice petitions related to the law

A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court against the constitutional validity of a provision of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which mandates maintaining the religious character of a place as it existed on August 15, 1947.

The plea, therefore, sought the top court's directions allowing courts to pass appropriate orders to ascertain the original religious character of a place of worship.

The petition claimed to have challenged only Section 4(2) of the Act that barred proceedings to change the religious character, aside from prohibiting filing of fresh cases on the same issue.

"The Centre has transgressed its legislative power in barring the judicial remedy, which is a basic feature of the Constitution. It is well established that the right to judicial remedy by filing suit in a competent court, cannot be barred and the power of courts cannot be abridged and such denial has been held to be violative of basic feature of the constitution, beyond legislative power," said the plea filed by petitioner Nitin Upadhyay, a law student.

 

The plea, filed through advocate Shweta Sinha, said the Act mandated preservation and maintenance of the religious character of places of worship without barring changes in the "structure, edifice, construction or building" in these places.