Insta
Supreme Court Asks For Attorney General’s Opinion In Petition Seeking State-Wise Definition Of Minorities
Swarajya Staff
Jul 20, 2019, 03:09 PM | Updated 03:09 PM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi has sought the opinion of the Centre’s top legal officer, Attorney General K K Venugopal, over the question of whether minorities could officially be defined based on state-wise demographic data, reports Live Law.
The matter relates to a petition filed by BJP leader and advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, claiming that even though Hindus were a majority community nationwide, they were in fact a minority in seven states and one union territory. It has been argued that defining the term ‘minority’ as per nationwide data is illegal.
The petition also points out that communities such as Muslims in Jammu & Kashmir, Sikhs in Punjab and Christians in several North-East states, were enjoying minority status even though they were a majority in those states.
Provisions of the National Commission for Minorities Act 1992 are being challenged in this case for being ultra vires of the Constitution of India.
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.