AIMPLB moves SC against petitions challenging Places of Worship law

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board, a body that represents a wide section of Indian Muslims, stated that it has moved the Supreme Court opposing challenges to the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.

“The Board has sought impleadment in two public interest litigation (PIL) petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991,” said a statement issued on Thursday on the Board’s behalf.

The board, in the applications to the Supreme Court, submitted that the two PILs beset doubt and relate to unsettling a law.

According to the board, the Supreme Court has already stated that the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, is “the commitment of India to the equality of all religions”.

The places of worship law “is an affirmation of the solemn duty” that the country has “to preserve and protect the equality of all faiths as an essential constitutional value, a norm which has the status of being a basic feature of the Constitution,” the board stated.

The applications by the board said that by indulging the petitions, the Supreme Court could create problems instead of resolving the claims of “alleged violation of fundamental rights” of the litigants, who “have their political agenda on priority”.

The board also stated that disputes such as these polarise people along religious lines and will have a direct impact on society.

The applications further point out that the 1991 legislation is for putting “an end to alleged claims relating to the places of worship”. It has been mentioned further that a dispute between different communities, related to a place of worship, is a sensitive issue which threatens public order, and disturbs peace and tranquillity.