NEW DELHI: As the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a batch of pleas related to the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, on February 17, the Congress party has sought direction to be an intervenor in pleas challenging the provisions of the Act. The INC in its intervention application (IA) supported the 1991 Act stating that it is essential for communal harmony, adding that the Act does not violate freedom of religion. “The PoW Act is enacted by the Parliament, as it reflects the mandate of the Indian populace. In fact, the PoW Act had been envisaged prior to the year 1991 and the same is made a part of the Applicant’s then Election Manifesto for the Parliamentary elections,” the INC stated in its plea filed before the SC. “The PoW Act is essential to safeguard secularism in India and the present challenge appears to be a motivated and malicious attempt to undermine established principles of secularism,” the INC added. On December 12 last year, a bench headed by the chief justice, while acting on a batch of pleas relating to the 1991 law, restrained all courts from entertaining fresh suits and passing any effective interim or final orders in pending cases seeking to reclaim religious places, particularly mosques and dargahs.The Act prohibits conversion of religious character of places of worship from their status as of August 15, 1947.Many political leaders including NCP (Sharad Pawar group) MLA Jitendra Awhad, RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha, VCK MP Thol Thirumavalan, AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi along with leaders from CPI (M) and IUML have openly supported the PoW Act and sought to intervene.The SC will hear the plea filed by BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay seeking a direction that Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the PoW Act be set aside.The court will also consider a plea filed by former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy against certain provisions of the 1991 law. Swamy had sought directions to ‘read down’ the law so Hindus could stake claim over the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi and Shahi Idgah Mosque in Mathura.
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