Congress, SP to file separate petitions in Supreme Court seeking implementation of Places of Worship Act

New Delhi: Congress and Samajwadi Party are likely to file separate petitions soon in the Supreme Court seeking strict implementation of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, sources said on Friday.

Among political parties, representatives of CPI(M), Muslim League, DMK, RJD and AIMIM have filed petitions in the apex court earlier, as the Supreme Court is all set to hear a batch of petitions on the validity of the law next month.

The Places of Worship Act, 1991 mandates that the “religious character” of a place of worship would remain as it was on 15 August, 1947 and exception was only given to ‘Ram Janma Bhumi-Babri Masjid’. The Narasimha Rao government had enacted the law when the agitation for a temple in Ayodhya at the birthplace of Lord Ram was going on.

The latest petitions come against the backdrop of renewed demands from rightwing groups seeking surveys of mosques to probe whether they were built in temple premises.