History · 26 Jul 2026

Places of Worship Act AMASR exemption

With reference to the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 and the Adina Masjid dispute, consider the following statements:

  1. Section 4 of the 1991 Act exempts monuments already protected under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 from the Act's freeze on religious character.
  2. The Adina Masjid was declared a Centrally Protected Monument only after the current religious dispute began in
  3. 3. Unlike at Gyanvapi and Bhojshala, where ASI surveys were authorised only after prolonged litigation, the restriction on religious activity at Adina Masjid has so far been enforced entirely through administrative refusal rather than a court order.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A1 and 2 only
B2 and 3 only
C1 and 3 only
D1, 2 and 3

Tests the ability to distinguish a specific statutory exemption clause from a superficially similar current-affairs pattern and to separate administrative enforcement from judicial authorisation - an analytical distinction rather than a recall-level fact.

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This question is based on: Bengal's 650-Year-Old Adina Mosque Becomes the Newest Front in India's Monument-Ownership Disputes
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About this question

Why in news

A Hindu right-wing organisation has been holding prayers outside the ASI-protected 14th-century Adina Masjid in Malda, claiming it was built over a Shiva temple, placing it alongside Gyanvapi and Bhojshala as a site testing the AMASR exemption under the 1991 Act.

Why for UPSC

UPSC's GS1/GS2 boundary often tests whether aspirants understand the precise legal mechanism (Section 4 exemption) behind repeated monument disputes, rather than treating each dispute as an isolated news event - and whether they can distinguish administrative action from judicial authorisation, a distinction UPSC values highly.

Prelims summary

Section 4 of the 1991 Places of Worship Act exempts AMASR-protected monuments from its religious-character freeze - the legal seam behind Gyanvapi, Bhojshala and now Adina Masjid disputes. At Adina, restrictions currently rest on administrative refusal alone, unlike the court-ordered surveys at the earlier two sites.

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