The Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind (JUH) on Friday released a report asserting that the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Places of Worship Act reflects how deeply majoritarian politics has penetrated legal validation. This came on the same day the Madhya Pradesh High Court declared the disputed Bhojshala complex in Dhar district a temple, a move JUH said validates fears raised since the 2019 Ayodhya verdict.
Report Highlights Judicial Trends
The report, titled 'A Critical Analysis of the Babri Masjid Judgement and the Case of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991', provides a detailed analysis of major Supreme Court judgments, including the Ismail Faruqui Case and the Ayodhya verdict. It claims that certain judicial interpretations have weakened constitutional principles relating to the protection of religious places.
Speaking at a programme attended by senior lawyers, legal experts, former judges, researchers, and intellectuals, JUH president Maulana Mahmood Asad Madani observed that disputes did not end with the Babri Masjid issue. Instead, new controversies relating to Gyanvapi, Mathura Eidgah, Kamal Maula Mosque, and other religious sites are now being raised, reopening old wounds.
Essential Practices Doctrine Under Fire
The report particularly discusses the far-reaching implications of observations in the Ismail Faruqui case, wherein a mosque was held not to be an essential part of Islamic practice in every circumstance. 'As the judiciary increasingly accommodates Hindutva majoritarianism, Muslim sacred spaces have become legally vulnerable, culturally contested, and politically targeted,' the report stated.
Places of Worship Act Undermined
The Places of Worship Act of 1991 was designed to freeze the religious character of worship sites as they existed on August 15, 1947. Yet recent court rulings have interpreted the Act so narrowly that fresh claims against mosques in Varanasi, Mathura, and elsewhere are now proceeding. 'The arguments deployed in those cases—concerning essential practices, belief, archaeological evidence, and civilisational memory—are now being recycled in ongoing litigation involving the Gyanvapi Mosque in Sambhal, the Shahi Eidgah at Mathura, and others,' the report states.
Recommendations for Judiciary and Policy
The report recommends that the judiciary must uphold the Places of Worship Act as intended and that it be strictly implemented. Protection of religious places should be treated as a constitutional obligation. It further recommends that 'communal politics and historical claims should not be allowed to become instruments for legal disputes.'
