Syed Khalique Ahmed | India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI—Stating that the Varanasi court’s directions for a survey of the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi Masjid complex by a team of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is “unwarranted” and “questionable” because the case itself is “barred” by the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, passed by the Parliament, UP Sunni Central Wakf Board has declared to move the Allahabad High Court to challenge order.
“We will be approaching the Hon’ble High Court immediately against this unwarranted order”, Board chairman Zufar Ahmad Faruqi said in a statement.
Calling the order “unwarranted”, Faruqi said that the order of the Varanasi court order to find if the Gyanvapi mosque stood on the site of a Hindu temple, was barred by the by the Places of Worship( Special Provisions) Act, 1991 as the latter was also upheld by a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court in the Ayodhya Judgement in November 2019.
“The status of Gyanvapi Masjid, as such, is beyond question”, he said in reference to the 1991 Act.
Stating that the order of the court for ASI survey was “questionable” because “technical evidence can only supplement certain foundational facts”, the board chairman said that “no evidence has been produced before the court that suggests that there was a prior existing temple at the site of the mosque”.
“Even in Ayodhya judgement, the ASI excavation was ultimately of no use. The ASI did not find proof that the Babri Masjid was built upon the site of a demolished temple. The Honourable Supreme Court has specifically observed that there was no such evidence”, he said.
“Thus, this practice of mosques being ‘investigated’ by the ASI has to be stopped”, he demanded.
The Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Masjid are in the same complex, separated by a wall, part of which collapsed several years ago, owing to lack of maintenance. Muslims have been praying five times daily in the mosque ever since it came into being, along with Friday prayers when the Gyanvapi Masjid is highly crowded because of a large Muslim population in Dal Mandi area, that is on the other side of the road that divides Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Masjid complex, and the Dal Mandi area.
Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991
As the Sunni Board chairman argues that the case is “barred” by the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, it is important to discuss about the provisions of the Act. The Act was passed in 1991 when the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute had reached its zenith and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other Hindutva organisations were demanding to convert not only the Babri Masjid but also the Gyanvapi Masjid, Varanasi and Shahi Idgah, Mathura, to be converted into temples as they believed that these were constructed after demolition of Hindu temples. Besides, many other Hindu organisations had circulated a list of 3,000 mosques which they wanted to rebuild into temples as they claimed that these mosques existed on the site of Hindu temples.
All these developments resulted into intense Hindu-Muslim tensions across the country, from villages to towns and cities, particular after BJP leader L K Advani took out a “rath yatra”, demanding construction of Ram Temple over the site of the Babri Masjid.
To maintain the communal harmony, the then Congress government headed by Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao passed The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 in Parliament that aimed at protecting and maintaining the religious character of all places of worship as they existed on August 15, 1947, the day India attained freedom from the British rule. The Act was brought as a part of the electoral promise that the Congress had made in its election manifesto in 1991 Lok Saba elections. However, the BJP that was in Opposition at the time in Parliament, had opposed the law, stating that it amounted to appeasement of Muslims.
Aims and Objective of the Act
However, the Act excluded the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid situated in Ayodhya from the purview of the Act and clearly stated that the “Act will not apply to Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid”.
This was perhaps because there had been a prolonged litigation between Hindus and Muslims since the days of the British and the Central government wanted to settle the matter through negotiations or through a court order. The Act prevented any demand for change in the status of any other place of worship and build a place of worship of their own religion on its site.
The Act clearly stated that it is meant “to prohibit 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 15th day of August, 1947, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto”. The law, according to the Act, will have overriding effect over any other law for the time being in force.
Important Provisions of the Act
While stating that “no person shall convert any place of worship of any religious denomination or any section thereof into a place of worship of a different religious denomination,”, the Act clearly says that all suits, appeals or other proceedings pending before any court, tribunal or other authority, seeking to convert the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947, shall abate with the commencement of the Act and no further legal case can be filed in this connection. The Act came into force on July 11, 1991.
According to the Act, the bar on instituting fresh legal proceedings will not apply in cases where the conversion in religious character of a place of worship has taken place after August 15, 1947 and an appeal is pending before a court or an authority.
The 1991 Act will, however, also not apply to an ancient and historical monument or an archaeological site or remains covered by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, or to any suit or appeal that has been settled or disposed of by a court or tribunal before the commencement of this Act, or any dispute with regard to any such matter that has been settled by the parties amongst themselves before the commencement of this Act.
Punishment for Contravention of the Act
The Act provides that any one who converts any place of worship of one religion into a place of worship of a different religion, will be imprisoned for a period of three years and can also be fined. The Act also provides punishment who abet in the crime or is a party to a criminal conspiracy to commit such an offence.
