Special Correspondent: The Allahabad High Court has held that the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, safeguards the religious character of places of worship as they existed on August 15, 1947, but does not prevent the government from acquiring such properties for genuine public purposes, including infrastructure development and road widening.

A division bench comprising Justice JJ Munir and Justice Arun Kumar dismissed a petition filed by six Muslim shopkeepers from Varanasi’s Dalmandi area. The petitioners had challenged the Uttar Pradesh government’s proposed road-widening project linked to the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, arguing that it would lead to the demolition of their shops—their sole source of livelihood—and the acquisition of six mosques in the vicinity.

The mosques named in the petition included Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, Masjid Rangile Shah, Masjid Ali Raza Khan, Masjid Karimullah Baig, Masjid Nisaran, and Masjid Sangamarmar. The petitioners claimed these structures predated Independence and that their acquisition would violate the 1991 Act.

Rejecting the plea, the court clarified that the 1991 legislation primarily aims to prohibit the conversion of a place of worship from one religious denomination to another. It does not curtail the State’s sovereign authority to acquire land for secular public purposes.

The bench also referenced Section 51 of the Waqf Act, 1995 (as amended), which permits acquisition of Waqf properties for public use, subject to legal safeguards and consultation with the Waqf Board. It termed the petitioners’ allegation of community targeting as “odd” and noted that, as mere tenants and not mutawallis or custodians, they lacked locus standi to represent the mosques.

The court, however, emphasized that its observations would not prejudice any future legal remedies available to the Uttar Pradesh government, the Waqf Board, or the mosque authorities.