<<The destruction of a monument of political, cultural or religious significance erected by an earlier, defeated order followed by the erection of a new building upon its ruins was standard practice for emperors and kings of all faiths in history. Though the pedigree of a given artefact or architectural element could be open to doubt, India is full of monuments which bear traces and vestiges of earlier constructions. None of this is of any legal relevance to the religious character of a site, after the passing Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991.
The 1991 Act says that a mosque, temple, church or any place of public worship in existence on August 15 1947, will retain the same religious character that it had on that day – irrespective of its history – and cannot be changed by the courts or the government. ... The Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi was built upon a temple destroyed in 1669 on Aurangzeb’s orders and video surveys are hardly needed to identify Hindu features and motifs that are part of its masonry and structure. What matters in law is the status of the Gyanvapi mosque on August 15,1947. Its status as a mosque and a waqf was noted by a judgment of the Allahabad high court (AIR 1942 Allahabad 353, Din Mohammed and Ors. vs Secretary of State). Hindutva activists cite this judgment at their own peril. In 1935 or 1936, some Muslim individuals went to court for a declaration to the effect that the enclosure outside the mosque was included in the dedicated waqf. During Eid and other special prayers, the congregation spilt over beyond the mosque into this enclosure. By its decree, the civil court recognised that the mosque itself, the plinth underneath and some adjacent portions were waqf but the enclosure around it was not. The issue in appeal was the status of this enclosure – which was held to be an area of public usage over which neither the Muslims (nor anyone else) could claim exclusive use, by ownership or by custom. The Allahabad high court [in 1942] confirmed the findings of the civil court and also traced an instructive history of the administrative policy to protect the rights of both communities as they stood, in the area of the Gyanvapi site. ... The Allahabad high court also declared that the enclosure around the mosque was to be a public space. In fact, the high court records that periodic intrusions into this space – whether by Hindus or by Muslims – were corrected by the administration, and idols were removed from this space on occasion. ... EarnestRani Ahilyabai Holkar built the present Vishvanath temple in 1777. This is the temple that is statutorily recognised by the Uttar Pradesh Kashi Vishvanath Temple Act 1983. In the course of upholding the vires of this Act, the Supreme Court (in 4 SCC 606 *Shree Adi Vishveshvara vs State of UP, 1997*) recognises that the original svayambhu jyotirlinga was carefully removed from the old structure and protected every time the temple was attacked. The deity in the temple Ahilyabai built is the statutorily recognised “jyotirlinga”, which any devotee of the Hindu faith would be loathe to deny. These are not issues that can now be reopened. The Constitution Bench judgment [dtd. Nov. 9 2019] in the Ayodhya case says this: 85…….”*Section 4(1) clearly stipulates that the religious character of a place of worship as it existed on 15 August 1947 shall be maintained as it existed on that day. Section 4(2) specifically contemplates that all suits, appeals and legal proceedings existing on the day of the commencement of the Places of Worship Act, with respect to the conversion of the religious character of a place of worship, existing on 15 August 1947, pending before any court, tribunal or authority shall abate, and no suit, appeal or proceeding with respect to such matter shall lie after the commencement of the Act. The only exception in the proviso to sub-section (2) is where a suit, appeal or proceeding is instituted on the ground that the conversion of the religious character of a place of worship had taken place after 15 August 1947 and such an action was pending at the commencement of the Places of Worship Act.* (emphasis original)>> (Excerpted from: < https://thewire.in/law/1991-places-of-worship-act-and-1942-allahabad-hc-ruling-settle-gyanvapis-status-as-a-mosque >.) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/greenyouth/CACEsOZhEZZJCEMZ31VGWb%2BSqSafsJYOz3J6Mu6UG_y9Z_eWamg%40mail.gmail.com.
