No — it was properly passed, but it was not fair. Those are two different tests, and this story exists to show that a rule can pass the first and fail the second.
What went wrong, and how it was put right. The majority wanted quiet at night — not an unreasonable wish. But the cost of that quiet was not shared equally. For most residents a late delivery is a convenience; for a sick or elderly resident it can be medicine. “One night, an elderly resident collapsed because of low blood sugar, as the medicine she needed could not be delivered to her flat in time. The RWA modified its rule to exclude food and medicines from the ban, protecting the voice of the minority.”
Notice what the fix was. The RWA did not abandon the rule; it carved out an exception for the things that can be a matter of life and health. A fair rule is usually not the opposite of the unfair one — it is the same rule with the harm taken out of it.
Why this small story is in a chapter about the state: because an RWA is a miniature government, and the mistake it made has a name. The word box on page 151 calls it the dominance of the majority — “a situation where the interests of the majority alone are pursued, to the detriment of the rights of minorities.” The chapter’s conclusion is that a republic must be built so that this cannot happen: “That’s a republic in action — where the rule of law is more powerful than the wishes of the majority. This is how republics like India, France, and the USA defend against the ‘dominance of the majority’. It stops the powerful majority from unfairly hurting the rights of smaller groups.”
The same principle at national scale. Just before this story the chapter gives a real case: certain lands “belong to tribal communities… protected by law for their use”, and companies “cannot buy or lease the land without the permission of the local community and due legal process.” Mining was not allowed in the sacred hills of the Dongria Kondh tribe in Odisha, because “the community strongly opposed the destruction of their revered land. In this case, the rights of the tribals to their sacred hills were protected by law.” A smaller group, a larger interest — and the law standing where the vote alone would not have.
Tip: if a question asks you to judge a rule, use the two tests separately. Who made it, and how? Then: on whom does it fall hardest, and were they heard? Most unfair rules are perfectly legal and simply never asked the second question.