Reject 'malicious petitions': Jamaat-e-Islami Hind urges courts
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New Delhi: Jamaat-e-Islami Hind on Saturday urged courts to reject malicious petitions intended to disturb communal harmony, like challenges to the Places of Worship Act and survey petitions to various masjids in the country.
The organisation said that the Places of Worship Act of 1991 was enacted to curb communal tensions by ensuring the status quo of all religious places as they existed on August 15, 1947. It said this important legislation was meant to preserve communal harmony and prevent the escalation of various disputes over historical claims to places of worship, PTI reported.
The organisation called for the strict enforcement of the 1991 Act on Saturday.
"Despite the law's clear provisions, we continue to witness false, baseless and politically motivated claims being made regarding mosques, shrines, and other religious sites," the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind release shared at the presser by its vice presidents Salim Engineer and Malik Moatasim Khan said.
Unfortunately, these "fabricated" claims find their way into petitions filed in courts, and in some cases, rather than dismissing these mischievous petitions, sometimes the courts are granting permissions for undertaking surveys or studies of these Muslim places of worship, the organisation said.
The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind expressed concern about this "disturbing" trend and demanded that the Places of Worship Act must be enforced in both letter and spirit.
"Courts must reject such malicious petitions that are aimed at disturbing communal harmony. In fact, people and organisations filing such petitions with a hidden political and commercial agenda should be punished by imposing heavy fines and penalties," it said.
Judicial resources should not be wasted on matters aimed at creating unrest in society, the Muslim body said.
Permitting such activities risks opening a Pandora's box of claims and counterclaims that could create a permanent chasm between communities and lead to anarchy, it said.
The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind also strongly condemned the police firing in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, which claimed the lives of five "innocent" Muslim youths. The police must act responsibly to maintain peace, not fuel unrest, it said.