SC dismisses petition for giving minority status to Hindus in 8 states

New Delhi ,Dec 17 (HS): The Supreme Court dismissed the PIL seeking an order to grant minority status to Hindus in 8 states. This PIL was filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and advocate Ashwini Upadhyay. The Supreme Court has rejected a 26-year-old ordinance from the government challenging the petition to declare five communities Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, and Parsi as a minority.

In his the petition, Ashwini Upadhyay had sought to declare section 2 (c) of the National Minorities Commission Act 1992 unconstitutional. Under the same law, the said ordinance was issued on 23 October 1993. The petition demanded that minority status should not be determined at the national level, but instructions should be given to make rules in view of the population of that community in the state. Upadhyay had said this ordinance related to minorities against fundamental rights like health, education, housing. The petitioner said that Hindus may be a majority at the national level but they are a minority in eight states, so they should be given its status.