PLACES OF WORSHIP ACT

PLACES OF WORSHIP ACT

Subject: Legislations

Context: The Supreme Court on Friday sought the Centre sought the Centre’s response on a PIL challenging the constitutional validity of the Places of worship act, 1991.

Concept:

Objective of the Act:

• To freeze the status of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947.
• To provide for the maintenance of the religious character of such a place of worship as on that day.
• To pre-empt new claims by any group about the past status of any place of worship and attempts to reclaim the structures or the land on which they stood.

Main features:

• The Act declares that the religious character of a place of worship shall continue to be the same as it was on August 15, 1947. It says no person shall convert any place of worship of any religious denomination into one of a different denomination or section.

Exceptions:

• These provisions will not apply to monuments and sites covered by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958; a suit that has been finally settled or disposed of; and any dispute that has been settled by the parties or conversion of any place that took place by acquiescence before the Act commenced.
• Section 5 says that the Act does not apply to the place of worship commonly referred to as Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.
• Penal provision in the Act: The Act provides for imprisonment up to three years and a fine for anyone contravening the prohibition.