The Places of Worship Act, 1991

• The Solicitor General told the Supreme Court that the opinion of its five-judge Constitution bench in the Ayodhya case "may not cover" the validity of the Places of Worship Act, 1991.

About Places of Worship Act:

• It is described as "An Act to prohibit the conversion of any place of worship and to provide for the preservation of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on the 15th day of August 1947, and for matters connected with or incidental thereto," and it was passed on August 15, 1947.
• The disputed site at Ayodhya has been exempted from the Act. Because of this exemption, the trial in the Ayodhya case continued even after the law was implemented.
• In addition to the Ayodhya dispute, the Act exempted any place of worship that is an ancient and historical monument or an archaeological site covered by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.
• A suit that has been resolved or disposed of.
• Any dispute settled by the parties or conversion of any place that occurred by acquiescence prior to the commencement of the Act

Penalty:

• Section 6 of the Act provides for a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a fine for violating the Act's provisions.

Criticism:

• The law has been challenged on the grounds that it prohibits judicial review, which is a fundamental feature of the Constitution, imposes a "arbitrary irrational retrospective cutoff date," and restricts Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs' right to religion.
• It violates the principle of secularism by prohibiting the power of judicial review, which is a fundamental feature of the Constitution, and thus falls outside of Parliament's legislative competence.
• As a result, Hindu devotees will be unable to raise their grievances by filing a civil suit or invoking the jurisdiction of the Hon'ble High Court under Article 226 of the Indian Constitution against the high handiness of ultras, and will be unable to reclaim the religious character of Hindu endowments, temples, mutts, and so on from hoodlums if they encroached upon such property prior to August 15, 1947, and such illegal and barbarian act

What are the Places of Worship Act's provisions?

• Section 3: This 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.
• Section 4(1) states that a place of worship's religious character "shall continue to be the same as it existed" on August 15, 1947.
• Section 4(2) states that any suit or legal proceeding pending before any court regarding the conversion of the religious character of any place of worship existing on August 15, 1947, shall be dismissed, and no new suit or legal proceeding shall be instituted.
• The proviso to this subsection saves suits, appeals, and legal proceedings that are pending on the date of the Act's enactment if they relate to the conversion of a place of worship's religious character after the cut-off date.
• Section 5 states that the Act does not apply to the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case or any related suit, appeal, or proceeding.

What was the Supreme Court's position during the Ayodhya decision?

• The Constitution Bench referred to the law in its 2019 Ayodhya verdict, saying it embodies the secular values of the Constitution and prohibits retrogression.
• As a result, the law is a legislative instrument designed to protect the secular features of the Indian polity, which is one of the Constitution's fundamental features.

Way Forward

Regardless of the shortcomings of the Act, the importance of the Places of Worship Act cannot be overstated. This is a fantastic legislative intervention that keeps non-regression as a core feature of our secular values.

Read Also: 1991-Analysis