Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said that the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, has come into the spotlight recently due to certain remarks made by former Chief Justice of India D. Y. Chandrachud in 2022, which has since opened a “Pandora’s box.”

Ramesh pointed to the observations made by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud during the hearing of the Gyanvapi mosque dispute in May 2022.

The Supreme Court’s remarks, which stated that the Places of Worship Act does not bar an examination of the religious character of a structure as it stood on August 15, 1947, have set off a wave of legal and political debate. 

He said, “On 20 May 2022, Chandrachud Sahab made a verbal comment, and it opened Pandora’s box. The Places of Worship Special Provisions Act 1991 was passed in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in 1991; it is being violated.”

He further stated, “The comment made by retired CJI Chandrachud on 20 May 2022 opened Pandora’s box in Sambhal, Ajmer, and the BJP is taking full political advantage of it. Communal tension is being spread everywhere. We want that the Places of Worship Special Provisions Act 1991 should be respected… The CWC meeting was held the day before yesterday. We have written in our resolution that it is necessary to implement the Places of Worship Special Provisions Act 1991… In Parliament also, we have raised the issue of Adani’s case, Manipur, and the Places of Worship Special Provisions Act 1991, especially regarding what is happening in Ajmer and Sambhal. We have given them notice.”

Congress Resolution on Supporting the Act

Ramesh’s remarks also come in the wake of a resolution passed by the Congress Working Committee (CWC), which reaffirmed the party’s commitment to the Places of Worship Act. The resolution was adopted after the ongoing disputes over religious sites in Sambhal and Ajmer, where claims have been made regarding the conversion of religious sites.

The Congress party has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of deliberately compromising the integrity of the law as part of a broader strategy to sustain communal polarization ahead of elections.

The Places of Worship Act, which was initially designed to prevent such disputes, has been at the center of political debates, with the BJP’s stance on religious issues often being criticized for seeking to stoke divisions within the country.