The Supreme Court on Thursday (December 12) barred civil courts across the country from registering fresh suits challenging the ownership and title of any place of worship, and from ordering surveys of disputed religious places until further orders.
The Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna also directed that “in pending suits, the courts would not pass any effective interim orders or final orders including orders of survey till the next date of hearing”.
Also comprising Justices P V Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan, the Bench was hearing petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Places of Worship Act, 1991. Brought in the wake of the Ayodhya movement, the law prohibits conversion of any place of worship and provides for the maintenance of the religious character of places of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947.
Only the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute was kept out of the purview of the law since the case was already sub judice. Here is a list of 10 pending suits on mosque-temple disputes.
- Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, UP
The Case: In 1991, a suit was filed on behalf of the Deity Adi Vishweshwar claiming the mosque was built on the site of the Kashi Vishwanath temple. In 2021 five Hindu women filed a suit before a Varanasi Civil Court seeking permission to worship religious idols that were allegedly located inside the Gyanvapi mosque.
Status: The Court of the District and Sessions Judge, Varanasi ordered an ASI survey and upheld the maintainability of the suit filed by the devotees in 2023. In January 2024, the court directed appropriate arrangements be made to allow worship in the basement of the Gyanvapi complex. The maintainability of the 1991 suit was also upheld in 2022.
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.
