Standing with the law, securing social peace

The Supreme Court's intervention in the Places of Worship Act case is a timely reminder to the lower judiciary about the sanctity of the law

- Tahir Mahmood

It was the last decade of the 20th century and communal tensions were at their peak all over the country. The apple of discord was the mosque situated in the holy city of Ayodhya; the conflict between the two largest religious communities of the country had seemingly reached the "no-return" point. The thinking among the rulers was that it was too late in the day to try to stop the ongoing tug of war tarnishing the age-old reputation of India as a multi-religious, spiritual and highly tolerant nation. But there were reasonable apprehensions that the fire might engulf many other old mosques across the country. They, therefore, decided to enact a law that could apply brakes to all such aspirations and plans. Picking a suitable title for the proposed law was a hard nut to crack. The thought process about it got unduly prolonged, but it was soon realised that time was running out. The proposed law was eventually passed in September 1991 under the cryptic title Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act. The idea of keeping its title vague might have been taken from a law enacted three years earlier by the equally ambiguous title of Religious Places (Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1988.