New Delhi: A plea has been moved in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to restrain the courts in the country from entertaining pleas filed for carrying out survey at religious shrines. The plea has been filed by Congress party leaders Alok Sharma and Priya Mishra.
The petitioners’ urged the court to issue directions to the state governments to comply with the provisions of the Place of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
The plea has raised questions over the validity of the orders issued for carrying out survey of mosques at Mathura, Gyanvapi mosque at Varanasi, Ajmer Sharif, Dhar in Madhya Pradesh, and Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh.
The petitioners’ also asked states’ not to execute any order of courts directing them to carry survey of religious structures or mosques in the contravention of the Place of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. The plea seeks a complete halt on proceedings related to Gyanwapi, Mathura, Sambhal, Bhojshala and Sambhal going on in various courts across the country.
On Friday, the Supreme Court asked the Uttar Pradesh government to ensure "peace and harmony" is maintained in Sambhal, and asked the trial court not to proceed in the suit against the Sambhal Jama Masjid, till the petition filed by the masjid committee against the survey order is listed before the high court. The apex court asked Sambhal district administration to form peace committees and maintain peace and harmony in the area.
The matter came up before a bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar. The CJI said the court is not going into merits of the matter and stressed, “We don't want anything to happen in the meanwhile...”.
