What is Places of Worship Act and why has it taken centrestage amid Sambhal mosque dispute

Devotees arrive at the Shahi Jama Masjid to offer prayers, in Sambhal, Friday (PTI)

Tensions are simmering in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal amid legal challenge to a court order permitting survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid after claims that a Hindu temple once stood at the site. This will be the fourth such survey ordered by a court after similar inspections being allowed at the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi (UP), Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura (UP) and Bhojshala-Kamal-Maula mosque complex in Dhar (MP).

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey of these mosques, over petitions filed by Hindu bodies, has fuelled an intense debate over the Places of Worship Act, 1991. While some Muslim bodies and leaders have argued that the surveys are in complete violation of the act, the Hindu side, including some RSS leaders, have been calling for a re-examination of the law.

As many as four petitions challenging the Act are currently before the Supreme Court. The apex court had asked the Centre to file an affidavit on the same in 2022 but it is yet to submit its report.

What is Places of Worship Act, 1991?

The Places of Worship Act states that the religious character of any place of worship, as it existed on August 15, 1947, must be preserved.

Its long title describes it as “An Act to prohibit conversion of any place of worship and to provide for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on the 15th day of August, 1947, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.”

Section 3 of the Act bars the conversion of places of worship, stating that "no person shall convert any place of worship of any religious denomination or any section thereof into a place of worship of a different section of the same religious denomination or of a different religious denomination or any section thereof."

The law fixed August 15, 1947 as the cut-off date for status quo on the character of religious places.

When was the law introduced?

In 1991, the then Congress government under former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao introduced the Act in Parliament. The bill was introduced when the Babri Masjid dispute was at its peak. The Congress brought the bill with an aim to introduce communal harmony and prevent future clashes. It was then opposed by the BJP. Notably, the Babri dispute did not fall under the Bill's ambit since the matter was already sub-judice at the time.

Exceptions

There are also certain built-in exceptions in the law while another has been created by the judges of the Allahabad high court during the hearing of cases pertaining to Kashi and Mathuri.

The Sub-section 3 of Section 4 of the Act specifies conditions in which the Act cannot be enforced:

A. Any place of worship which is an ancient and historical monument or an archaeological site or remains covered by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, or any other law.

B. Any suit, appeal or other proceeding, finally decided, settled or disposed of by a court, tribunal or other authority before the commencement of this Act.

C. Any dispute with respect to any such matter settled by the parties amongst themselves before such commencement.

D. Any conversion of any such place effected before such commencement by acquiescence.

The Allahabad high court made an exception to the Places of Worship Act, 1991, in the Gyanvapi case by ruling that the Act does not define the framework for the determination of the religious character of a site as it was on August 15, 1947. The judges said that, therefore, this must be determined by the courts based on the evidence presented during the proceedings.

In both the Kashi and Mathuri disputes, one or more of these exceptions were invoked to overcome the protection granted by the Places of Worship Act.