NEW DELHI, June 4:
A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging a provision of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Act and seeking a direction to the Centre to define “minority” and lay down guidelines for identification of minorities at the district level.
The plea sought to declare the notification on minority community, issued by the Government on October 23, 1993, as arbitrary, irrational and contrary to Articles 14, 15, 21, 29, 30 of the Constitution.
The petition was filed by Mathura-resident Devkinandan Thakur through advocate Ashutosh Dubey. It said the petitioner is filing this PIL under Article 32 to challenge the validity of Section 2(c) of the NCM Act 1992 for not only giving unbridled power to the Centre but also being manifestly arbitrary, irrational and offending Articles 14, 15, 21, 29 and 30 of the Constitution.
It sought direction to declare that Section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act is void, unconstitutional and inoperative for being violative of Articles 14, 15, 21, 29 and 30 of the Constitution.
The plea said that the facts constituting cause of action accrued on May 17, 1992, when the Act came into effect and by using unbridled power under section 2(c), the Centre arbitrarily notified five communities namely Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis as minority at national level against the spirit of the TMA Pai ruling of the top court.
“Cause of action continues till date because followers of Judaism, Bahaism and Hinduism; who are real minorities in Ladakh, Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Kashmir, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur, cannot establish and administer educational institutions of their choice because of non-identification of ‘minority’ at state level, thus jeopardizing their basic rights guaranteed under Article 29-30”, it said.
The plea said that their right under Articles 29-30 is being siphoned off illegally to the majority community in the state because the Centre has not notified them as ‘minority’ under the NCM Act. (PTI)
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