Ayodhya verdict did not uphold secularism: Ex- SC judge RF Nariman

NEW DELHI: Former Supreme Court judge and noted jurist Justice R F Nariman has expressed disappointment over the top court’s verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case and said it did not do justice to the principle of secularism. He also said the Places of Worship Act, which was upheld in the 2019 Ayodhya verdict, should be strictly enforced to scotch disputes over religious places which are “popping up every day” across the country and causing communal tension.

Delivering the inaugural lecture of Ahmadi Foundation established in the memory of former CJI A M Ahmadi, Justice Nariman pointed out how a special CBI judge, Surendra Yadav, who acquitted all accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case, got a post-retirement job as depu ty Lokayukta in Uttar Pradesh. “This is the state of affairs in this country,” he said while speaking on ‘Secularism and Indian Constitution’.

“In my humble opinion, a great travesty of justice was that secularism was not given its due by these judgments,” he said while referring to various orders passed by the apex court relating to the decades-old dispute on which final verdict was passed on Nov 9, 2019, by a five-judge bench. He disagreed with the reasoning given by the court to grant the disputed land for Ram Mandir despite holding that demolition of the mosque was illegal.

Referring to the 2019 verdict, Justice Nariman said there was a silver lining in it as it upheld the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which was dealt with in five pages of the order. Expressing anguish over the multiple suits being filed across the country raising disputes over religious structures, he said the 1991 law should be enforced and it should be read in every trial court where suits are filed to claim religious places of other communities.

“Today, we find hydra heads popping up all over the country. Suit after suit is being filed all over the place concerning not only mosques but also against dargahs. All this, according to me, could lead to communal tension and disharmony, and is contrary to what is envisaged in the Constitution and the Places of Worship Act. The only way to scorch and cauterise all these hydra heads is by applying these five pages in this very judgment and having it read out in every district court and high court. Because these five pages are a declaration by the Supreme Court which binds each of them,” he said.
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