Lucknow: Congress National Secretary Shahnawaz Alam has held the state government and the judiciary’s anti-constitutional approach responsible for the Sambhal violence. He alleged that the entire episode is an attempt to weaken the Places of Worship Act, 1991. He further claimed that the Supreme Court’s suspicious silence on this matter also raises questions about its stance.
In a statement issued from the Congress headquarters, Shahnawaz Alam stated that the Places of Worship Act, 1991, clearly stipulates that the character of religious places as of August 15, 1947, cannot be altered. Control over such places must remain with whoever was in control on that date. Furthermore, any petition challenging the character or control of a religious site cannot be entertained in any court. Therefore, the district court in Sambhal accepting a petition that describes the historic Jama Masjid as a temple itself is an illegal move.
Shahnawaz Alam pointed out that the civil judge in Sambhal, while ordering a survey, acknowledged that no caveat regarding this matter was pending previously. Despite this, issuing a survey order illegally indicates that the judiciary is influenced by the BJP government rather than the Constitution. In such a situation, it is natural for the local Muslim community to feel that the government, using parts of the judiciary and police, is attempting to unlawfully seize their mosque.
He added that former Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud’s admission regarding the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi verdict, where he said the decision was based on faith rather than facts, has increased mistrust among Muslims about the judiciary’s ability to protect their religious sites. Similar incidents involving the Gyanvapi Mosque and Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi, the Taj Mahal, Shahi Idgah in Mathura, and the historic Jama Masjid in Budaun, where lower courts violated the Places of Worship Act, have further compounded this mistrust. The Supreme Court’s silence on these matters has sent a message that the judiciary is complicit with the BJP government in anti-constitutional acts.
Shahnawaz Alam remarked that the country is witnessing how the Supreme Court remains silent on lower courts violating the Places of Worship Act while entertaining petitions seeking the removal of the words “secular” and “socialist” from the Constitution’s preamble. He emphasized that the Supreme Court, in its constitutional bench’s landmark ruling, has declared that the preamble is part of the Constitution’s basic structure and cannot be amended, even by Parliament.
He urged Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna to immediately dismiss the Sambhal civil judge for violating the Places of Worship Act to restore law and order.