New Delhi: Samajwadi Party leader and Kairana MP Iqra Choudhary has moved the Supreme Court seeking strict implementation of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar ordered on Friday listing of Choudhary’s plea with other pending pleas on the matter on February 17 without issuing a notice.
“Why are so many new petitions being filed? Every week we get one,” CJI Khanna said.
Choudhary has sought directions for the full implementation of the letter and spirit of the Places of Worship Act and to curb the increasing trend of legal actions targeting mosques and dargahs, saying this trend has the potential to tear apart the secular fabric of this country.
Apex court is seized of several pleas on Places of Worship Act
The top court is seized of of several pleas challenging constitutional validity of the Places of Worship Act, including Public Interest Litigations (PILs) filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay and former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy.
Several pleas for impleadment were earlier also filed against pleas challenging 1991 law
Several pleas for impleadment into the matter were earlier also filed against the pleas challenging the 1991 law, including pleas filed by, Gyanvapi Mosque Management Committee, Varanasi, Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind, CPI (M) through politburo member Prakash Karat, All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi and others.
Recently Congress party moved apex court in support of 1991 law
The Indian National Congress (INC) recently also moved the apex court seeking to oppose pleas challenging the Places of Worship Act, submitting any alterations to the 1991 law could jeopardize communal harmony and secular fabric of India and threaten the sovereignty and integrity of the nation.
The apex court, while hearing several petitions and cross-petitions on December 12 last year, restrained all courts in the country from passing any interim or final orders on pending pleas seeking to reclaim religious places.
