A fresh petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the validity of the provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, contending that they violated constitutional provisions, besides depriving Hindus and people from other faiths to seek restoration of their temples from encroachment.
The plea said that by the Act, the Centre has declared that religious character of a place of worship and pilgrimage as it existed on August 15, 1947 shall continue and barred the remedy by way of suit with respect to such matter in any court.
Notably, the top court had already on March 12, 2021 issued notice to the Centre on a PIL filed by BJP leader and advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, questioning the validity of the law. Since then, a number of petitions have been filed in the matter.
The petition, filed by Bhagwat Katha orator Devkinandan Thakur, claimed that Sections 2, 3, 4 of the 1991 Act took away right of judicial remedy of Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs to take back their places of worship and pilgrimage and property which belong to the deity.
It also claimed by the 1991 law, the Centre transgressed its legislative power by barring remedy of judicial review which is a basic feature of the Constitution.
The plea further contended the law legalised "barbarian acts of invaders" and violated the doctrine of Hindu law that temple property is never lost even if enjoyed by strangers for years as deity is embodiment of God and is juristic person, representing the infinite, the timeless.
(Published 28 May 2022, 12:24 IST)
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