Supreme Court orders no place of worship be built on roads

The Hindu
August 01, 2009

Ensure that no place of worship is built on roads, court tells Centre

Legal Correspondent

File affidavit on the steps taken, Bench tells Centre

We will take up the issue with States,

says Solicitor-General

“If there is any violation, officials must be held responsible and punished”

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre to take up with the State governments and ensure that there was no unauthorised construction of temples, churches, mosques and gurdwaras on public streets/public places.

A Bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Mukundakam Sharma asked Solicitor-General Gopal Subramaniam to file an affidavit on the steps taken in this regard by the Centre and posted the matter for further hearing to September 29.

The Bench was hearing an appeal filed by the Centre against a May 2006 Gujarat High Court order that directed all municipal corporations in the State to demolish places of religious worship causing obstruction on roads and other places. The Centre had then intervened when the situation in Vadodara and other cities in Gujarat became tense after violence and the Army staged a flag march in the riot-affected areas.

During the resumed hearing on Friday, Mr. Justice Bhandari told the Solicitor-General that a larger question was raised in this matter. He said: “As far as the existing religious places are concerned, we can understand that demolition or removing them may create some law and order problem. But why don’t you consider preventing such constructions in future across the country?”
Consensus of States

Mr. Subramaniam said: “The entire matter is being looked into at the highest level. It requires the consensus of all the States. We will certainly take it up with the States and try to bring about a consensus.”

Mr. Justice Bhandari said: “Ensure that no temple, church, mosque or gurdwara is constructed in public streets/public places. If there is any violation, you hold the officials responsible and they must be punished for their lapse.”

The Bench granted time with a direction to the Centre to file an affidavit on this issue.

The Centre, in its appeal, said it was concerned about the safety of the citizens and the law and order situation. The order was passed without even conducting a prima facie examination of the veracity of the contents of a newspaper report and without any pleadings on record. Temples or mosques, demolitions would have major fallout on communal harmony. The unauthorised constructions could be removed without offending the sensitivities of any group.
Intrinsically sensitive

The Centre made it clear that it was not justifying the existence of unauthorised constructions, more so if they were encroachments on public land.

However, the removal of religious places was intrinsically sensitive, and must be subjected to scrutiny and classification before demolition.

The Centre maintained that it was only interested in ensuring that the law and order situation in Gujarat did not go out of hand.