Supreme Court stays surveys, new suits under Places of Worship Act, 1991
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed trial courts nationwide to halt surveys and effective orders in cases disputing the religious character of existing structures under the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, alongside Justices PV Sanjay Kumar and KV Viswanathan, stated that the Act expressly prohibits such suits and proceedings.
The Court highlighted that no fresh suits could be registered, nor any final orders passed in pending cases until the validity of the 1991 Act is decided. "As the matter is sub judice before this Court, we deem it fit to direct that no fresh suits shall be registered or proceedings be ordered. In the pending suits, courts would not pass any effective or final orders," the Bench ordered.
Addressing concerns about jurisdiction, the Court remarked, "When a matter is pending before us, is it just and fair for any other court to examine it? We are on vires as well as the ambit of the Act."
The 1991 law seeks to maintain the status quo of all religious structures as they stood on August 15, 1947, barring courts from entertaining disputes regarding their character. It also stipulates that pending cases be abated, except for the Ram Janmabhoomi site, which was specifically excluded from the Act’s provisions.
The Supreme Court had previously affirmed the law in its 2019 Ayodhya verdict, granting the disputed site to the deity Ram Lalla while reiterating that other similar disputes cannot be entertained under the Act.
The current proceedings stem from petitions challenging the Act's provisions, including one filed by BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay. Upadhyay’s plea argues that the Act perpetuates historical injustices by preventing aggrieved Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs from seeking legal remedies for sites allegedly appropriated during invasions.
The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, which sought to join the proceedings in 2022, contended that the petitions indirectly target religious places with an Islamic character. Other petitions, including one by the Vishwa Bhadra Pujari Purohit Mahasangh, have also been filed in the matter, alongside several impleadment pleas.
The outcome of the case could impact ongoing disputes over sites like the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, Shahi Eidgah Mosque in Mathura, Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, and Ajmer Dargah in Rajasthan, where Hindu plaintiffs have sought rights to the properties, claiming they were built over temples.
Muslim parties have opposed these suits, citing the Places of Worship Act to challenge their maintainability.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Rajnath to top commanders: Outmaneuver adversaries with strategic surprise
Jaipur/New Delhi (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday directed the top military commanders of the three services to integrate an "element of surprise" into modern warfare to outmaneuver India's adversaries and bolster strategic posture.
In his address at the joint commanders conference in Jaipur, Singh also described the Operation Sindoor as a testament to the "swift, precise, and joint response" of the Indian armed forces to safeguard national interests and called upon the military to remain ready to deal with any security challenges.
In their two-day deliberations, the commanders carried out a comprehensive review of the combat preparedness of the military in the wake of the evolving regional security situation.
Operation Sindoor was a demonstration of India's growing capabilities and a symbol of the nation's collective resolve and new military ethos, Singh said, a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
He also unveiled a 'Joint Doctrine for Integrated Communication Architecture' that is aimed at strengthening doctrinal clarity, interoperability and integrated communications across the armed forces in future multidomain operations.
The joint commanders' conference, themed 'Military Capability in New Domains', brought together the top leadership of the defence ministry and the three services to deliberate on emerging security challenges and future readiness.
Comprehensive deliberations were held on future warfare, multidomain operations, technological transformation and joint capability development.
The conference witnessed extensive discussions on cognitive warfare, cyber resilience against evolving quantum and AI-enabled threats, military capability development in emerging domains, indigenous innovation and AI-enabled warfighting concepts.
It was attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh among others.
In his remarks, Singh asked the commanders to remain "future-ready" by learning from the operation as well as the current global security landscape.
He underscored the need to strengthen capabilities in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, data analytics and secure communication networks to stay prepared in the rapidly evolving geopolitical security scenario. He emphasised that future conflicts will increasingly be shaped by hybrid threats, information dominance and operations conducted simultaneously across cyber, space, electromagnetic and cognitive domains, according to an official readout.
Highlighting the transformative impact of emerging technologies, Singh stressed on the importance of ensuring integrated national preparedness across all spectrums of conflict, it said.
Singh's remarks at the conference came a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
The defence minister appreciated the progress achieved in enhancing jointness, integration and technological adoption across the three services, the readout noted.
Singh said that jointness constitutes a pivotal dimension within the transformative changes sweeping across the global defence sector.
"Future wars will not be won solely through weaponry, but through innovative thinking and enhanced synergy," he said.
The defence minister exhorted the commanders to cultivate the "element of surprise" to remain unpredictable to the nation's adversaries and secure a strategic edge in any given situation.
He, however, urged them to remain vigilant of the element of surprise of the enemy and always stay two steps ahead.
Singh also reiterated the Narendra Modi government's commitment to enhancing the capabilities of the defence forces through state-of-the-art weapons and platforms. He added that special focus is being laid on research in niche domains.
During the conference, he released a documentary film on Operation Sindoor.
The film reaffirms the nation's and defence forces' commitment to operational preparedness and decisive national response capabilities.
Demonstrations of advanced systems and platforms developed for intelligence fusion, operational planning and information management were also showcased during the conference reflecting growing integration of cutting-edge technologies into joint operational structures, according to the defence ministry.
The discussions will contribute significantly towards shaping India's future military transformation and integrated operational preparedness, it said.
