SHILLONG: The Apex Court while hearing a plea to accord minority status to Sikhs who are numerically strong in Punjab, has made a reference to Meghalaya by asking “Can Christians who are the majority in Meghalaya be also treated as a minority community in the state?”
The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on Monday decided to scrutinize whether a religious community in a state which is numerically strong and not dominated by others should be accorded minority status.
“Can Muslims be treated as minority in Jammu and Kashmir?” “For that matter, can Christians, who are the majority in the states of Nagaland and Meghalaya, be also treated as a minority community in these two Northeastern states? Sikhs may be a minority in other states but can they be treated as a minority group in Punjab?” the constitution bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and justices F.M.I. Kalifulla, A.K. Sikri, S.A. Bobde and R. Banumathi asked while hearing a plea by senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi for treating Sikhs as a minority in Punjab.
The Apex Court, while issuing notice to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, has fixed the next hearing after four weeks.
The Court also wanted Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and senior advocate R. Andhyarujina as amicus curiae to assist the court in deciding the matter.
The Constitution Bench referred to the Punjab High Court’s order in 2007 refusing to grant minority status to institutions run by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (SGPC) and the Supreme Court verdict in Bal Patil case in 2005 on the religious minority status of Jains.
The Apex Court in the Bal Patil case had pointed out that a community can be protected as a minority only if there was an apprehension that it may be dominated by other communities.
The 2005 Patil judgment by then Chief Justice of India M.N. Venkatachaliah had observed that “Minority as understood from constitutional scheme signifies an identifiable group of people or community who were seen as deserving protection from likely deprivation of their religious, cultural and educational rights by other communities who happen to be in majority and likely to gain political power in a democratic form of Government based on election”.
In Meghalaya, another plea by the Niam Khasi and Niam Tre to accord minority status to them is also pending with the High Court.
The High Court of Meghalaya on January 13 had issued a bailable warrant against Amarendra Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs, after he failed to appear in the court regarding the case.
The Court had wanted the Niam Khasi, Niam Tre and other minor tribes to be declared as minorities.
