New Delhi, January 17
The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed displeasure over the failure of six states and Union Territories, including Jammu and Kashmir, to respond to the Centre on the identification of minorities at the state level.
“We fail to appreciate why these states should not respond. We give last opportunity to the central government to obtain their responses, failing which we will presume that they have nothing to say,” a Bench led by Justice SK Kaul said, posting the matter for hearing on March 21.
According to a status report filed by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, 24 states and six UTs have furnished their comments on the matter so far, Attorney General R Venkataramani told the Bench, adding that comments from Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Telangana and Arunachal Pradesh and UTs of Jammu amp; Kashmir and Lakshadweep were awaited.
“They (states/UTs) cannot keep on not giving their responses. We will presume that they do not want to give responses,” the Bench said. As a counsel for one of the petitioners said Hindus were in minority in Jammu and Kashmir, the Bench noted that UTs were being administered by the Centre.
Petitioner Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay has sought minority status for Hindus in states/UTs where they are fewer in numbers. He has also challenged the validity of Section 2(f) of the National Commission for Minority Education Institution (NCMEI) Act, 2004, on the ground that it gave unbridled power to the Centre to declare any group a minority without there being proper guidelines.
Upadhyay has sought minority status for Hindus in Punjab, Jamp;K, Ladakh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Lakshadweep on the ground that Hindus are fewer in number in these states/UTs.
Contending Hindus were in minority in several states and were unable to avail the benefits of schemes meant for minorities, he also sought guidelines for identification of minorities at the state level. The top court had, on November 22 last year, asked the Centre to consult the states and UTs on the issue and file a report.
Centre brings up Kejri’s protest before SC
A day after Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and AAP MLAs marched to the L-G’s office to protest against alleged interference in the functioning of his government, the Centre on Tuesday raised the issue before the SC, terming the demonstration “undesirable”. “There is one caveathellip; While I say this, certain events are happening in the Capital while your Lordships are in midst of the matter,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Bench. tns
