Supreme Court gives Centre six weeks to take call on minorities in states

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, August 30

The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave six weeks to the Centre to spell out its stand after holding discussions with various states and union territories on identification of religious minorities, including Hindus, at the state level.

A Bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul extended the time given to the government and fixed October 19 after counsel for the Centre sought additional time to complete the deliberations on the contentious issue.

On behalf of the petitioner, senior counsel Vikas Singh opposed the Centre, saying that it was “funny” that the government wanted more time once again.

A day before the crucial hearing on the issue, the Ministry of Minority Affairs had on Monday told the top court that comments/views of the state governments, including those of Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, had not been received as on date.

“A reminder was sent to these states requesting them to furnish their comments/views. Further, comments of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are also awaited. In these states, the issue may have wider ramifications. The ministry proposes to hold meetings in the ensuing weeks with the remaining state governments/union territories in order to have their views on the matter also,” the Centre said in a status report submitted to the top court.

The report has been submitted in response to a plea filed by Delhi BJP leader and advocate Ashwini Upadhyay seeking the minority status for Hindus in states/UTs where they are less in number.

The top court had on May 10 taken exception to the Centre changing its stand on declaring Hindus as a minority in nine states and union territories where they are numerically lesser in number, saying taking different stands would not help.

A Bench led by Justice SK Kaul had made the comments after it noticed that the Centre, in departure from its earlier stand, said the power to notify minorities was vested in it and any decision in this regard would be taken after discussion with states and other stakeholders. The Ministry of Minority Affairs had earlier submitted that the state governments could declare any religious or linguistic community, including Hindus, a minority within the said state.

Upadhyay has sought the minority status for Hindus in Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Lakshadweep on the grounds that Hindus were numerically lower in strength in these states/Union Territories.