New Delhi, Dec 12: The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that no fresh suits would be registered under the Places of Worship Act in the country, and in the pending cases, no final or effective orders would be passed till further orders of the Apex Court.

A Special Bench headed by CJI Sajiv Khanna asked the Union government to file within four weeks its reply to the clutch of petitions challenging the validity of the 1991 Act, which prohibits the filing of a lawsuit to reclaim a place of worship or seek a change in its character from what prevailed on August 15, 1947.

The Bench, also comprising Justices Sanjay Kumar and K. V. Viswanathan, appointed advocates Kanu Agarwal, Vishnu Shankar Jain and Ejaz Maqbool as nodal counsel to make compilations of pleadings on behalf of the Union, the petitioners and the parties supporting the Act, respectively.

In March 2021, a Bench headed by then CJI S.A. Bobde sought the Centre’s response to the plea filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, challenging the validity of certain provisions of the law.

The plea said, “The 1991 Act was enacted in the garb of ‘Public order’, which is a State subject (Schedule-7, List-II, Entry-1) and ‘places of pilgrimages within India’ is also State subject (Schedule-7, List-II, Entry-7). So, the Centre can’t enact the Law. Moreover, Article 13(2) prohibits the State from making a law to take away fundamental rights but the 1991 Act takes away the rights of Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs, to restore their ‘places of worship and pilgrimages’, destroyed by barbaric invaders.”

It further added, “The Act excludes the birthplace of Lord Rama but includes the birthplace of Lord Krishna, though both are incarnations of Lord Vishnu, the creator and equally worshipped throughout the world, hence it is arbitrary.”

Meanwhile, several intervention/impleadment applications have been moved before the Apex Court seeking the dismissal of the petitions against the Places of Worship Act.

In its application, the Managing Committee of Varanasi’s Gyanvapi Mosque said the “consequences of declaring the 1991 Act unconstitutional are bound to be drastic and will obliterate the rule of law and communal harmony.”

It said that an Article 32 petition challenging a legislative enactment must indicate the unconstitutionality of the provisions based on constitutional principles and the rhetorical arguments seeking a sort of retribution against the perceived acts of previous rulers cannot be made the basis for a constitutional challenge.

“As many as 20 suits are pending before different Varanasi courts seeking to nullify the protection accorded by the 1991 Act and to convert the character of the Gyanvapi Mosque and prevent access of Muslims to the mosque,” it said.

In a similar application, the Committee of Management of Mathura’s Shahi Masjid Eidgah said that the law was enacted by Parliament in the interest of the country’s progress, which has stood the test of time for more than 33 years.

The mosque committee said that the adjudication of the petitions against the Places of Worship Act is likely to have a significant bearing on the adjudication of its special leave petitions pending before the apex court against the dismissal of their application filed under Order VII Rule 11 of the CPC (Code of Civil Procedure) and the pending suits against the applicant mosque committee.

The Management Committee of Shahi Masjid Eidgah is party to 17 different suits being tried by the Allahabad High Court, where the plaintiffs have staked a claim over the entire parcel of land over which the Shahi Masjid Eidgah has been built, and have further sought the removal of the mosque structure from the said land, claiming the same to have been built over Krishna Janmsthan.

Mumbai: More than two weeks after the Maharashtra Assembly election results, the Mahayuti coalition, led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, is yet to announce its cabinet expansion.

While Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar met senior leaders in Delhi on Wednesday, the absence of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has fueled speculation about internal dissent. Reports suggest that cabinet expansion discussions were central to Fadnavis and Pawar’s Delhi visit, where they engaged with Union ministers, including Home Minister Amit Shah. Meanwhile, Shinde remained in Thane, reportedly dissatisfied with certain developments.

Maharashtra BJP Chief CHandrashekhar Bawankule Visits Deputy CM Eknath Shinde In Tahne

BJP state chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule visited Shinde in Thane and facilitated a conversation with Fadnavis, attempting to address grievances related to portfolio allocations. Shinde’s faction of the Shiv Sena is embroiled in intense lobbying for ministerial positions. Speculation abounds that Shinde is advocating a rotational system for distributing portfolios among his MLAs, with two-and-a-half-year terms to placate multiple factions. However, some MLAs argue for new faces, criticizing the lackluster performance of previous ministers.

Shinde is reportedly vying for key portfolios, including Home, Revenue, and Urban Development. Among these, the Urban Development portfolio is said to have been promised during negotiations. Shinde’s demands and the BJP’s willingness to meet them remain contentious. Observers note that Ajit Pawar’s proximity to the BJP could be leveraged to counterbalance Shinde’s influence. Adding to the tension, Shinde is reportedly unhappy with the BJP’s exclusion of his close associates, including Sanjay Rathod, Tanaji Sawant, and Abdul Sattar, from ministerial considerations.

Root Of The Dissatisfaction

The dissatisfaction stems from a performance evaluation of ministers who served under Shinde from June 2022 until the elections. The cabinet expansion is critical, with the winter session of the state legislature scheduled to begin on December 16 in Nagpur. The Mahayuti leadership is under pressure to finalize portfolios and ensure smooth governance. While Fadnavis and Pawar navigated the power corridors of Delhi, Shinde’s conspicuous absence has raised eyebrows. Political observers speculate whether his actions signal discontent or a calculated move to assert his demands. A crucial Mahayuti meeting on Thursday may provide clarity on the impasse.

During his Delhi visit, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met President Draupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. These engagements, while routine, underscore the BJP’s focus on aligning state and central government priorities. As the lobbying intensifies, the power struggle within the Mahayuti could redefine Maharashtra’s political landscape. Whether the BJP accommodates Shinde’s demands or sidelines him using Pawar’s support will determine the coalition’s stability in the coming weeks.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday extended wishes to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on his 84th birthday and prayed for his long and healthy life.

“Birthday wishes to Rajya Sabha MP and senior leader Sharad Pawar Ji. I pray for his long and healthy life,” posted PM Modi on X.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge Extends His Wishes

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha also wished NCP chief Sharad Pawar on X.

“Happy Birthday to Nationalist Congress (@NCPspeaks) Party President, Former Union Minister Sharad Pawar. Wish you good health and long life,” Kharge posted.

Meanwhile, posters, extending birthday greetings to NCP-SCP chief Sharad Pawar were put up outside his residence in Delhi.

Who Is Sharad Pawar?

Sharad Pawar, known to the masses as Saheb, was born on December 12, 1940. Hailing from a family in Baramati, Pune, Pawar started early in politics and became president of the State Youth Congress at 24 and a member of the State Cabinet 5 years later.

Pawar has been Chief Minister of Maharashtra for seven years out of his 32 years in politics. During these years, Maharashtra became and retained a position as the leading industrial state in the country and also a state with a very managed treasury.

Pawar has always stood for a society free of caste and communal biases. As Chief Minister he has consistently encouraged people of different communities, living in Maharashtra, to develop their special cultural and ethnic identity while contributing to the overall development of the state.

Pawar is an economic liberal and believes that only large-scale investment leading to rapid economic development and increased employment makes a country a real international power.

About The Split Of NCP

Last year in July, Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar led a vertical split in his party, joined hands with the National Democratic Alliance and took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

The Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024 witnessed a decisive victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance, securing a landslide win with 235 seats. The results marked a significant milestone for the BJP, which emerged as the single-largest party with 132 seats. The Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party also made notable gains, with 57 and 41 seats, respectively.

The NCP’s ‘clock’ symbol is with the Ajit Pawar group, following a ruling by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in February, recognising it as the official NCP. On March 19, the top court allowed the Ajit Pawar faction to use the ‘clock’ symbol, with certain conditions, including that his party would issue a public declaration that the use of the ‘clock’ symbol for Lok Sabha and the Maharashtra Assembly Elections is sub-judice and subject to the outcome of the challenge made by the Sharad Pawar group to the decision of the ECI.

It had also asked the Ajit Pawar faction to not use the name and images of Sharad Pawar in its campaign materials. Following a rift between the Sharad Pawar and the Ajit Pawar factions of the NCP, the Election Commission of India recognised the Ajit Pawar’s party as the real NCP based on its legislative majority and allotted the ‘clock’ symbol to it. The top court had asked the Sharad Pawar faction to use the ‘Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Chandra Pawar’s name for upcoming elections and the “man-blowing turha” symbol.

Earlier, the apex court had directed that the Election Commission’s order of February 7 allotting ‘Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar’ as the party name for the Sharad Pawar faction will continue till further orders.