Hindus being denied minority status: SC seeks concrete case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has sought concrete examples for the allegation that the Hindus are being denied minority status at state levels. The Court made this demand while hearing a plea that challenged the minority status given to six religious communities as per the Section 2(C) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.

As per the Minorities Act, 1992, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Parsis, Sikhs and Jains have been declared as minorities at the national level, which has been challenged by a Hindu spiritual leader, Devkinandan Thakur through a public interest litigation or PIL.

The lawyer representing the petitioner argued that a 1993 notification declaring six religious communities as minorities at the national level is against several court judgements which say minorities have to be notified by states.

Replying to the argument, Justice UU Lalit, said that it can look into the cases of Mizoram or Kashmir, if there is a concrete case of Hindus being denied minority status. All disputes over minority status will not be examined state-wise, the court also said.

Meanwhile, the Centre, earlier, had told the court that the power to notify minorities is vested with the Union government and any decision in this regard will be taken after discussion with states and other stakeholders.