India’s high courtroom hits pause button on temple-mosque surveys beneath Locations of Worship Act

The Supreme Courtroom on Thursday ordered civil courts throughout the nation to not register lawsuits difficult the possession and title of locations of worship beneath the Locations of Worship (Particular Provisions) Act of 1991.

The transfer comes after the apex courtroom heard a bunch of petitions difficult the validity of the Locations of Worship Act. An order from the CJI-led bench would primarily put a maintain on all surveys of temples and mosques.

“We deem it match to direct that no contemporary fits shall be registered or proceedings be ordered. Within the pending fits, no efficient interim orders or remaining orders together with orders of survey might be granted by civil courts until the following date of listening to,” the SC mentioned.

Temple and mosque surveys have turn out to be a contentious challenge in India resulting in violence and communal tensions, the latest instance being the Sambhal incident. The highest courtroom’s order would additionally cease the surveys of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi and the Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura.

The petitions had been heard by a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and KV Viswanathan.

CJI Khanna additionally mentioned that no listening to on the matter would happen till the Centre submits its response in 4 weeks.

What’s the Locations of Worship Act?

The Locations of Worship Act of 1991 stipulates that anyplace of worship won’t be subjected to a personality change and that its nature shall be maintained because it was on August 15, 1947.

The Act, launched by the P.V. Narasimha Rao-led Congress authorities in the course of the peak of the Ram temple motion, was additionally supposed to use to the contentious Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque advanced in Varanasi and the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple-Shahi Idgah mosque advanced in Mathura.

The regulation had made just one exception – on the dispute pertaining to the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri masjid in Ayodhya.