Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, May 25: A petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, challenging the constitutional legality of key portions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991, claiming that it flagrantly contradicts secularism and the rule of law.
Swami Jeetendranand Saraswati, a religious leader, challenged the constitutional validity of Sections 2, 3, and 4 of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991.
The provisions, according to the plea, not only flagrantly contradict Articles 14, 15, 21, 25, 26, and 29 but also flagrantly violate the values of secularism and rule of law, which are important parts of the Preamble and the basic structure of the Constitution.
According to the petition, the injury to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs has been enormous because Sections 2, 3, and 4 of the Act have taken away the right to approach the court, thus closing the right to judicial recourse.
The Act prohibits the conversion of places of worship under Section 3. It states, “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.”
Section 4 prohibits any litigation or other legal action for the conversion of any place of worship’s religious nature from what it is now.
The petition asked for a declaration that Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 are void and unconstitutional because they violate Articles 14, 15, 21, 25, 26, and 29 of the Indian Constitution by legalising ‘ancient historical and puranic places of worship and pilgrimage’ that have been illegally occupied by foreign invaders.
