PIL Filed in SC Challenging Section 2C of National Minority Commission Act, 1992

Shashwati Chowdhury

Published on: June 21, 2022 at 16:58 IST

Another public interest litigation has been filed in the Supreme Court, seeking to the cancel Section 2C of the National Minority Commission Act of 1992.

Chandrashekhar, the petitioner, sought the quashing of Section 2C, stating it was unconstitutional and violated Articles 14, 15, 21, 29, and 30 of the Constitution.

Aside from that, the petition said that the Ministry of Welfare’s notification to the minority community on October 23, 1993 was irrational, unconstitutional, and violates Articles 14, 15, 21, 29 and 30 of the Constitution, and it sought its cancellation.

As a result, who are in less in number only those religious and linguistic groups will be granted minority status under the 1992 law, according to the appeal.

The petitioner prayed the Supreme Court to issue directions to the Government to define minorities at the district level, as minorities are identified at the district level for the benefits they receive.

According to the petitioner’s advocate, there are nine states in the country with non-Muslim minorities who have not been declared minorities under Section 2C of the National Commission for Minorities, 1992. Muslims, on the other hand, have been recognised a minority under this. As a result, minority communities are not getting the due attention, said to the advocate.

As minority communities, the Section in question lists five religious communities: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Parsis.

The petitioner questioned that Hindus make up only 1% of the population in Ladakh, 2.75 percent in Mizoram, 2.77 percent in Lakshadweep, 4% in Kashmir, 8.74 percent in Nagaland, 11.52 percent in Meghalaya, 29 percent in Arunachal Pradesh, 38.49 percent in Punjab, and 41.29 percent in Manipur, but the Centre has not declared them a minority and they are not protected under Articles 29-30 of the Constitution On the other hand, the Centre has unilaterally labeled Muslims as a minority, despite the fact that Muslims constitute 96.58 percent of the population in Lakshadweep, 95 percent in Kashmir, and 46 percent in Ladakh. Similarly, the Centre has designated Christians as a minority in Nagaland, where they account for 88.10 percent of the population, 87.16 percent in Mizoram, and 74.59 percent in Meghalaya, the petitioner further argued

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