[Places of Worship Act challenge] Need to consult high government functionaries: SG Tushar Mehta to Supreme Court

The Central government can take a stand on the challenge to the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act of 1991 only after consultation with higher echelons of the government, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court on Monday. .The SG, therefore, asked the Court to list the case in the first week of December since he was unable to have a detailed consultation with the government."I would need consultation at higher level," the SG said.A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala acceded to the request and posted the case for hearing in January 2023. "Counter-affidavit to be filed or before December 12 and we will list this on first week of January 2023," the bench directed.Pertinently, the Court directed that the matter be posted before a three-judge bench. .The law which was introduced during the height of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement seeks to protect the status of all religious structures as it stood on the date of independence by barring courts from entertaining cases which raise dispute over the character of such places of worship.The law further provides that such cases already pending in courts would stand abated.The Act, however, carved an exception for Ram Janmabhoomi site which was the basis for courts including High Court and Supreme Court hearing that matter..Since Ayodhya land was exempted, the Supreme Court had invoked this law in 2019 while awarding the disputed site at Ayodhya to child deity Ram Lalla. The Supreme Court had, however, reaffirmed that similar such cases cannot be entertained with respect to other sites in view of the Act..The plea by BJP spokesperson Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay states that the Act allows illegal acts of invaders to continue for perpetuity by barring legal remedies to Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs."Centre has barred the remedies against illegal encroachment on the places of worship and pilgrimages and now Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs cannot file Suit or approach High Court under Article 226. Therefore, they won’t be able to restore their places of worship and pilgrimage including temples-endowments in spirit of Articles 25-26 and illegal barbarian act of invaders will continue in perpetuity," the petition states..Upadhyay has contended that the Act created an "arbitrary irrational retrospective cut-off date, (by) declaring that character of places of worship-pilgrimage shall be maintained as it was on August 15, 1947 and no suit or proceeding shall lie in Court in respect of disputes against encroachment done by fundamentalist barbaric invaders and law breakers and such proceeding shall stand abated.".The petition has also adverted to how the law exempted Ram Janambhoomi from its ambit without extending the same right to Sri Krishna Janmasthan.“Hindus are fighting for restoration of birthplace of Lord Krishna from hundreds of years and peaceful public agitation continues, but while enacting the Act, the Centre has excluded the birthplace of Lord Ram at Ayodhya but not the birthplace of Lord Krishna in Mathura, though both are the incarnations of Lord Vishnu, the creator," the petition said.The top court had sought the Central government's response on the plea in March 2021.During the previous hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that the top court's 2019 judgment in the Ayodhya case does not deal with the validity of the Act..In June this year, the Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind moved the apex court seeking impleadment in the petition contending it was apparent that he has sought to indirectly target places of worship which are presently of Islamic character..[Read our live-coverage of the hearing below].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.