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Appearing for one of the petitioners, Rakesh Dwivedi, Sr. Adv, suggested that the fresh petitions can be tagged along with the pending ones. The bench, however, opined that the petitioners can intervene in the pending matter.
A Supreme Court bench of Justices Chandrachud and Pardiwala today directed the petitioners, who have challenged the provisions of the Places of Worship Act 1991, to move intervention applications in pleas already pending before the court, challenging the same legislation.
Appearing for one of the petitioners, Rakesh Dwivedi, Sr. Adv, suggested that the fresh petitions can be tagged along with the pending ones. The bench, however, opined that the petitioners can intervene in the pending matter instead of getting the pleas tagged.
Vijay Hansaria, Sr. Adv, argued that the present petitions raise a fresh set of grounds and the petitioners may not be able to raise the additional grounds in the intervention application. Court, at this point, directed that the petitioners will be at liberty to supplement additional grounds in the main petition.
The Supreme Court, today heard pleas by Advocate Chandra Shekhar, former Member of Parliament Chitnamani Malviya, Swami Jeetendra Saraswatee, Devkinandan Thakurji, and Anil Kabootra.
Malviya's plea challenges the Act on the grounds that "It excludes the birthplace of Lord Rama but includes the birthplace of Lord Krishna, though both are the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the creator and equally worshiped all over the world."
Chandrashekar's plea states that religious fundamentalists’ invasion on the land of India was always followed by the destruction of places of worship of eminence and a place of worship of a different religious denomination was constructed or established over the ruins of the earlier structure and thus, each and every place of worship of eminence of Sanatan (Hindu) religion has one or more place of worship of a particular religious denomination in its vicinity.
BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, challenged the Places of Worship Act 1991, before the Supreme Court last year. The Supreme Court issued notice in the same in March 2021. The plea is pending before the court.
In June 2022, Jamait Ulama-I-Hind filed an impleadment application in Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay's plea. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has moved an application in the same opposing the challenge.
Case title: Batch of petitions
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