The Supreme Court on Friday posted for hearing, before a three-judge bench, the pleas challenging the Constitutional validity of certain sections of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India UU Lalit also asked the Centre to file its response to the pleas within two weeks. It noted that the Central government has not yet filed any response to the pleas in which the notice was issued last year.
It also allowed applicants to intervene in the main pleas challenging the Places of Worship Act and can file written submissions for not more than five pages.
It also issued notice to the Centre on some pleas and intervention applications filed on the matter.
Posting the matter for hearing on October 11, it said that in the meantime all parties are directed to complete pleadings.
Earlier, the apex court had granted liberty to petitioners, challenging the Act, to file an intervention application in already pending pleas on the same issue.
The plea challenged the Places of Worship Act saying that the Act takes away the rights of Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs to restore their ‘places of worship and pilgrimages’ destroyed by the invaders.
The daughter of Kashi Royal Family, Maharaja Kumari Krishna Priya; BJP leader Subramanian Swamy; Chintamani Malviya, former Member of Parliament; Anil Kabotra, a retired army officer; advocate Chandra Shekhar; Rudra Vikram Singh, resident of Varanasi; Swami Jeetendranand Saraswati, a religious leader; Devkinandan Thakur, resident of Mathura and a religious guru among others have filed the pleas in the apex court against the 1991 Act.
The apex court had issued notices to the Centre on the plea of advocate Ashwini Upadhyay and one other plea challenging the Act.
