Sir — The Madras High Court verdict banning Sharia’h courts in Tamil Nadu is momentous. Despite India’s secular status, parallel functioning of religious courts is indeed a challenge to our democracy. These kangaroo courts allegedly operate on flimsy grounds, misleading the faithful. Undoubtedly, the top brass of our politics, irrespective of their political identity, are fully aware of this bizarre irony and, therefore, their utter reticence in this issue is obviously scandalous.