Supreme Court Special Bench To Hear Petitions Challenging Constitutionality Of Places Of Worship Act On December 12

The Supreme Court will hear a batch of writ petitions challenging the constitutionality validity of the Places of Worship Act (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 on December 12 at 3.30 PM. The challenge will be heard by a special bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, Justices Sanjay Kumar, and K.V. Viswanathan. The petitioners argue that the law is arbitrary and unreasonable and infringes the fundamental right to practice religion, leading to the violation of the fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 25 of the Indian Constitution.The lead petition (Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay v. Union of India) was filed in 2020, and the Court issued notice to the Union Government in March 2021. Later, a few other similar petitions(Vishwa Bhadra Pujari Purohit Mahasangh v. UOI and Dr. Subhramanian Swamy And Ors v. UOI ) were also filed challenging the statute, which seeks to preserve the status quo with respect to religious structures as they stood on August 15, 1947, and prohibits legal proceedings seeking their conversion.The Union Government has yet to file its counter-affidavit in the matter, despite the several extension times given by the Supreme Court. On July 11, 2023, the Court asked the Union to file the counter by October 31, 2023.The Managing Committee of the Gyanvapi Mosque has filed an intervention before the Supreme Court in the pleas challenging the validity of the Places of Worship Act 1991. It said that the consequences of the declaration sought by the petitioner that the Act was unconstitutional "are bound to be drastic."In the intervention application, the Managing Committee stated that it was a key stakeholder in the legal deliberation since several suits have been filed claiming the removal of the mosque despite the bar under Sections 3 and 4 of the 1991 Act.Case Details: Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay v. Union of India., W.P. (C) No. 1246.2020 & Vishwa Bhadra Pujari Purohit Mahasangh v. UOI, W.P. (C) No.559/2020 and Dr. Subhramanian Swamy And Ors v. UOI., W.P. (C) No.619/2020.

Supreme Court Special Bench To Hear Petitions Challenging Constitutionality Of Places Of Worship Act On December 12

Gursimran Kaur Bakshi

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