The Supreme Court Tuesday asked the Centre why states like Arunachal Pradesh, which too has a BJP government, and centrally-administered Union Territories like Jammu and Kashmir and Lakshadweep were not responding to its query seeking views on demands to enforce the law that religious and linguistic minorities should be identified at the state level.
“Jammu and Kashmir is administered by you at the moment…Arunachal is the same regime…Your own regimes are not responding… What is this? Lakshadweep also,” Justice S K Kaul, presiding over a three-judge bench, told Attorney General R Venkataramani as he sought more time to get the views of the states and UTs which are yet to respond.
Venkataramani told the bench the government had filed an affidavit stating that 24 states and 6 Union Territories had furnished their views. But four states – Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand—and two UTs Jammu and Kashmir and Lakshadweep, were yet to send their opinion.
“I will try to get their responses and take stock of all the responses that have come so far,” Venkataramani said, seeking more time for this. To which, Justice Kaul responded by saying, “We can’t keep not giving responses… I would presume they have nothing to say”.
Giving the “last opportunity” to the Centre to get the views of the states and the UTs, the Supreme Court said in its order, “We fail to appreciate why these states should not respond and gives last opportunity to the Central Government to obtain responses from them failing which we will presume they have nothing to say”.
The bench also directed that a copy of the order be sent to the concerned states and Union Territories.
Appearing for the petitioner, advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, Senior Advocate C S Vaidyanathan said the National Commission for Minorities had agreed in the affidavit that the definition of minorities cannot be on a national basis and that in spite of this, the October 1993 notification by which the centre notified Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Parsis, as ‘minority’ community continues.
“Either this will have to be quashed or the government will have to come up with a fresh notification,” said Vaidyanathan. He added Hindus were a minority in Arunachal, Lakshadweep, and J and K and this may be the reason why they were not responding.
Vaidyanathan said the court, in the meanwhile, could refer it to the Law Commission but AG Venkataramani said he has been told the Commission already has many requests and is busy setting its schedules.
The court agreed to give the Centre more time and fixed the matter for hearing next on March 21.
