Places of Worship Act
About:
- According to its official description, the law is “An Act to prohibit the conversion of any place of worship and to provide for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on the fifteenth day of August 1947, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.”
Exemption:
- The Act did not apply to the contentious Ayodhya site. Due to this exemption, the Ayodhya case trial continued long after the law’s implementation.
- In addition to the Ayodhya conflict, the Act exempted:
- The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1958 applies to any place of worship that is a historical or archaeological monument.
- a case that has been successfully resolved or dismissed.
- any disagreement that the parties have resolved, as well as any conversion of property that occurred by consent prior to the start of the Act.
Penalty:
- In accordance with Section 6 of the Act, violating the Act’s rules is punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine.
Criticism:
- The law has been contested on the grounds that it restricts the right to judicial review, which is a fundamental component of the Constitution, imposes a “arbitrary unreasonable retrospective cutoff date,” and limits the freedom of religion for Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs.
What Clauses Does It Contain?
- Section 3 of the Act prohibits the conversion, in whole or in part, of a place of worship belonging to any religious denomination into a place of worship belonging to a different religion or even to a different branch of the same religion.
- Section 4(1) states that a place of worship’s religious nature “must remain to be the same as it existed” on August 15, 1947.
- Section 4(2) states that any lawsuit or legal action related to the conversion of a place of worship that existed on August 15, 1947, and was pending before a court, shall be dropped, and no new lawsuit or legal action shall be brought.
- The caveat to this subsection saves lawsuits, appeals, and legal actions that are ongoing on the day the Act is put into effect if they concern the conversion of a house of worship’s religious character beyond the deadline.
- Section 5 states that the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case and any lawsuit, appeal, or other procedure connected to it are exempt from the Act’s application.
- What stance did the Supreme Court take during the Ayodhya decision?
- The Constitution Bench referred to the statute in the 2019 Ayodhya judgement and stated that it embodies the secular values of the Constitution and forbids retrogression.
- Thus, the legislation is a legislative tool created to safeguard the secular aspects of the Indian politics, which are one of the fundamental principles of the Constitution.
