Congress moves SC in support of Places of Worship Act

Congress has petitioned the Supreme Court to oppose the petitions challenging provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.

Congress has moved an intervention application in a pending public interest litigation against the constitutional validity of the Act. "The applicant seeks to intervene in this matter to emphasise the constitutional and societal significance of the POWA, as it apprehends that any alterations to it could jeopardise India's communal harmony and secular fabric thereby threatening the sovereignty and integrity of the nation," the application filed by the party reads.

The Act is essential to safeguard secularism in India and the challenge against it appears to be a motivated and malicious attempt to undermine established principles of secularism, the application states.


The application further contends that it stands committed to the principles of secularism and was instrumental in enacting the law. Congress has also questioned the motive behind filing the instant PIL.

"The present petition also erroneously states that POWA is discriminatory as it is applicable only towards members of the Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist communities. A bare perusal of POWA shows that it promotes equality amongst all religious groups and does not accord special treatment towards specific communities as alleged by the petitioner. It is equally applicable towards places of worship of all religious groups and ascertains and affixes their nature as on August 15, 1947," the application states.

Congress has submitted that it apprehends that any alterations to the Act could jeopardise India's communal harmony and secular fabric, and may threaten sovereignty and integrity of the nation.