AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi's plea seeking implementation of the 1991 places of worship law is scheduled to be heard on January 2 by the Supreme Court. Lawyer and MP Owaisi, who is the chief of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, filed the plea last year in December 17, 2024, through advocate Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi, asking to maintain the religious character of a place as it existed on August 15, 1947.
However, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna restrained all courts from entertaining any fresh cases and passing any orders in pending matters which sought to reclaim religious places, specifically dargahs and mosques. He made this decision while acting on a batch of similar pleas against the 1991 law.
"As the matter is sub-judice in this court, we deem it appropriate that no fresh suit would be registered and proceedings are undertaken till further orders of this court," the CJI-led bench had said on December 12.
Thereafter, the proceedings in about 18 lawsuits that were filed by various Hindu parties were stalled by the top court. These petitions sought surveys to determine the original religious character of nearly 10 mosques, including Shahi Idgah Masjid at Mathura, Gyanvapi at Varanasi, and Shahi Jama Masjid at Sambhal where four people died during clashes, PTI reported.
The special bench, which also comprised Justices K V Viswanathan and Sanjay Kumar, was hearing at least six petitions, including the one filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay, challenging several provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
One of the contentions said that the provisions took away the right of judicial remedy which allowed to reclaim a place of worship of any religious group or person.
The 1991 Places of Worship law prohibits conversion of any place of worship and states about the maintenance of a place's religious character as it was on August 15, 1947.
Through his plea, Owaisi has sought a direction to the Centre to ensure the law is being implemented effectivel. He also cited instances where various courts had ordered survey of mosques based on pleas filed by Hindu litigants, his counsel said. However, it is likely that the Supreme Court would tag Owaisi's plea with other pending matters for hearing on January 2.
Other pleas by the Muslim community have also sought strict implementation of the 1991 law in order to ensure communal harmony and to preserve the present status of mosques, which the Hindu side seeks to be reclaimed, claiming that temples existed in these places before they were razed by invaders.
The Gyanvapi Mosque management committee had moved the top court, opposing various pending petitions that challenge the 1991 law's constitutional validity. It also listed several claims made in the past years regarding various mosques and dargahs, including the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque near Delhi’s Qutub Minar, Shahi Idgah Masjid in Mathura, and the Kamal Maula Mosque in Madhya Pradesh among others.
The committee said that the petitions challenging the law were filed with "mischievous intent" directed towards facilitating lawsuits against the religious sites, which remain protected under the 1991 Act.