'There Is A Limit': SC Irked Over Many Fresh Pleas On 1991 Places Of Worship Law

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Supreme Court expressed displeasure on Monday over filing of several pleas on the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act.

The Supreme Court said a three-judge bench will hear in April the pending post-notice petitions related to the 1991 law, news agency PTI reported. The law mandates the religious character of a place to be maintained as it existed on August 15, 1947.

The Supreme Court, however, granted liberty to the petitioners like Samajwadi Party leader and Kairana MP Iqra Choudhary, who filed the pleas recently and notices have not been issued on them, to file applications for intervention in pending ones by citing new legal grounds.

Dismissing fresh petitions, on which notices were not issued yet, a bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said, "The writ petitioners can file an (intervention) application raising new grounds."

"We are constrained to pass this order after taking note of the number of fresh petitions filed. The pending writ petitions, which have no notices, stand dismissed with liberty to file an application raising additional grounds, if any. The new IA will only be allowed if there is any new point or new legal issue that has not been raised in the pending petitions," the bench said.

It then listed the batch of petitions and cross ones pertaining to the 1991 law in the week commencing April 1 before a three-judge bench.

At the outset, the CJI said,“People keep on filing fresh petitions alleging that they have raised new grounds...It will become impossible for us to deal with the petitions besides whatever has already been filed.”

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