A Pandora's box that the Supreme Court has opened

The apex court's mixed messaging on the Places of Worship Act has allowed claims to be made about the Sambhal mosque and the Ajmer shrine

- Barkha Dutt

It was none other than Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat who had urged against looking for a Shivling under every mosque. And yet, here we are.

A judicial panel in Uttar Pradesh will now investigate how four people died as clashes broke out between police and protesters after a trial court allowed a survey of a mosque in Sambhal. In Rajasthan, a local court has issued notices to several authorities after admitting a petition arguing that the much-revered Ajmer Dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti was once a Shiva temple. The petitioner has asked for a physical survey of the dargah.

Where will this end? Is the Places of Worship Act now effectively redundant? Is it a law that exists on paper without any actual applicability? And is the Supreme Court responsible for this entirely mixed messaging to the lower courts?

First, what is this law that is at the heart of today's politico-religious debate? In September 1991, when PV Narasimha Rao was Prime Minister (PM), a law was enacted by Parliament to "provide for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on the 15th day of August, 1947".