The case is a civil suit filed by Hindu devotees seeking the right to worship inside the premises of the Gyanvapi Mosque, on the ground that it was a Hindu temple and still houses Hindu deities.
The Muslim parties have challenged the maintainability of the suit on ground that the Places of Worship Act of 1991, which was introduced at the height of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, seeks to protect the status of all religious structures as they stood on August 15, 1947.
Section 4 of the Act states that the religious character of a place of worship existing on August 15, 1947 shall continue to be the same as it existed on that day. It bars courts from entertaining cases regarding such places of worship. The provision further states that such cases already pending in courts would stand abated.
Source: Barandbench
