JudiciaryImportant2024-12-12

SC Halts Suits Seeking Surveys of Places of Worship

Q: With reference to the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, consider the following statements: 1. It mandates maintaining the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on January 26, 1950. 2. The Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute in Ayodhya was exempted from the provisions of this Act. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

B. 2 only — Statement 1 is incorrect because the cutoff date under the Act is August 15, 1947, not January 26, 1950. Statement 2 is correct as Section 5 of the Act explicitly exempted the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute from its purview.

Why focus: GS2 Judiciary — SC stays on major Acts frequently yield Assertion-Reason questions testing the 1991 Places of Worship Act cut-off date exemptions

In News

What Happened

On December 12, 2024, a Special Bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, issued a sweeping order halting all district courts across India from registering new suits or passing interim orders for surveys of places of worship. This stay remains effective until the Supreme Court determines the constitutional validity of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. The decisive intervention occurred amid rising communal tensions and a surge of local petitions demanding surveys of historical mosques.

Why It Matters

This judicial intervention is crucial for maintaining communal harmony and preventing the proliferation of local disputes over religious sites. It reasserts the importance of the 1991 Act, which was designed to protect the religious character of monuments as they stood at the time of Independence, thereby reinforcing India's secular fabric.

Background

History & Context

The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act was enacted in 1991 during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement to freeze the religious character of places of worship as they existed on August 15, 1947. Despite this law, recent years saw a wave of civil suits in lower courts claiming that various mosques, such as Gyanvapi in Varanasi and Shahi Idgah in Mathura, were originally Hindu temples. Petitioners often sought archaeological surveys or court-appointed commissioners to find historical evidence, leading to localized tensions and violent clashes, such as those in Sambhal in late 2024.

What Changed

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BEFORE: District courts entertained multiple fresh civil suits seeking to alter or challenge the status of existing places of worship. NOW: All lower courts are strictly barred from registering any new suits of this nature until the Supreme Court rules on the 1991 Act.
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BEFORE: Local judges frequently ordered interim measures like ASI surveys or video graphing of religious sites based on preliminary claims. NOW: The Supreme Court has explicitly stayed all interim orders for surveys or appointment of court commissioners for existing disputes.
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BEFORE: The constitutional validity of the Places of Worship Act, 1991 was pending hearing without affecting ongoing lower court proceedings. NOW: Legal proceedings across the country are effectively frozen pending the final Supreme Court decision on the Act's validity, ensuring a uniform national approach.

Prelims Angle

NCERT Connection

This event directly applies concepts from Class 11 Political Science Chapter 8 on Secularism, specifically state intervention to prevent inter-religious domination. The Supreme Court's action invokes the Basic Structure Doctrine, where secularism is a core feature, and balances the freedom of religion (Article 25) with the necessity of maintaining public order and equality (Article 14).

Practice Questions

Q1

With Reference To

With reference to the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, consider the following statements: 1. It mandates maintaining the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on January 26, 1950. 2. The Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute in Ayodhya was exempted from the provisions of this Act. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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