"Cannot Pass" Directions On Hindus As Minorities In States: Supreme Court

Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, who is the petitioner in the plea pending before another bench, told the Supreme Court that there are some states where Hindus are in minority. The bench observed that it "cannot pass" general directions on the issue.

The Supreme Court has said that pleas seeking guidelines for identification of minorities at the district level is "contrary" to the law as the religious and linguistic minority status have to be considered state-wise.

The observation by a bench of Justices UU Lalit and SR Bhat came while it was hearing a plea challenging a provision of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Act 1992, and also seeking a direction to the Centre to define "minority" and lay down a guideline for the identification of minorities at the district level.

The Supreme Court told the counsel appearing for the petitioner that this plea cannot be entertained.

"It is contrary to law," the bench orally observed and referred to the TMA Pai judgement of 2002.