No fresh suits, orders or surveys till we decide on pleas against Places of Worship Act: SC | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday said that no fresh suits can be registered against the Places of Worship act-1991 till the apex court is hearing the case. The top court also barred all courts nationwide from issuing any effective interim or final orders, including directives for surveys, in ongoing cases involving existing religious structures.
“We deem it fit to direct that no fresh suits shall be registered or proceedings be ordered. In the pending suits, no effective interim orders or final orders including orders of survey can be granted by civil courts till the next date of hearing,” a bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna observed.
A three-judge bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna, and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan, was hearing a batch of public interest litigations (PILs) that challenged the validity of some provisions of the Places of Worship Act 1991.
The Supreme Court was informed that 18 lawsuits are currently pending across the country concerning 10 mosques or shrines.
The bench also provided the Central government with four weeks to submit an affidavit in response to a series of petitions challenging specific provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
What is Places of Worship Act?
The 1991 Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act prohibits conversion of places of worship, provides for the maintenance of religious character as existed on Aug 15, 1947. The Act, however, made an exception for the Ram Janmabhoomi site, which formed the foundation of the Supreme Court’s 2019 verdict in the Ayodhya case, granting the disputed land at Ayodhya to the child deity Ram Lalla.
What do petitions say?
Petitions argue that the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act was arbitrary, contending that: a) There was no valid justification for establishing August 15, 1947, as the cut-off date, and b) No logical connection exists between India’s political independence, the formation of the Republic, and addressing the civilizational conflict arising from the colonial suppression of Hindu identity and the cultural dominance imposed by Islamic invaders.