Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna has expressed his displeasure over piles of new petitions filed in the Places of Worship Act, 1991. The court, however, has allowed the filing of an intervention petition with additional grounds. The original petition on the law’s validity was filed by Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, but the court last year halted proceedings into 18 lawsuits by Hindu parties seeking to reclaim 10 mosques. This includes the Shahi Idgah-Krishna Janmbhoomi, Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi mosque, and Sambhal mosque disputes. The Congress, which was in power when the law was passed, and Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM are the latest political parties to have moved the Supreme Court seeking that the law be strictly implemented. It was passed in 1991 to disallow the change of religious character of a place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947. The move saw several opposition parties making a beeline to the top court in favour of the law while Hindu groups and right-wing outfits opposed it.
