A Hindu group has moved the Supreme Court challenging Section 4 of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 which calls for maintaining the “religious character” of holy-structures as they existed on 15 August 1947, Press Trust of India has reported.
The report says that the petition seeks to open the litigation route to reclaim disputed sites and “assumes significance in the case of Kashi and Mathura where two disputed mosques stand”.
The law also prevents conversion of a mosque into a temple and vice-versa.
The PIL filed by Vishwa Bhadra Pujari Purohit Mahasangh seeks to declare the Section 4 of the Places of Worship act as ultra vires – that is to term it as beyond the Parliament’s legal power and unconstitutional.
“The impugned Act has barred the right and remedy against encroachment made on religious property of Hindus exercising might of power by followers of another faith…the parliament by making an impugned provision has without resolution of dispute, through process of court, abated the suit and proceedings, which is peers unconstitutional and beyond its law making power ”, says the PIL.
The PIL goes on to say that the Parliament cannot restrain Hindu devotees from getting back religious places of worship via judicial process and also cannot make any law which takes away the “vested religious right of devotees”.