The law which was introduced during the height of Ram Janmabhoomi movement seeks to protect the status of all religious structures as it stood on the date of independence by barring courts from entertaining cases which raises dispute over the character of such places of worship.
The law further provides that such cases already pending in courts would stand abated.
The Act, however, carved an exception for Ram-Janambhoomi site which was the basis for courts including High Court and Supreme Court to examine the issue and deliver judgment.
Since Ayodhya land was exempted, the Supreme Court had invoked this law in 2019 while awarding the disputed site at Ayodhya to child deity Ram Lalla. The Supreme Court had, however, reaffirmed that similar such cases cannot be entertained with respect to other sites in view of the Act.
In the instant batch of petitions, the plea by BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay states that the Act allows illegal acts of invaders to continue for perpetuity by barring legal remedies to Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs.
The Central government has without resolution of the disputes through process of the law, abated the suit/proceedings, which is ‘per se’ unconstitutional and beyond its law making power, Upadhyay has contended.
Source: Barandbench
