press trust of india
New Delhi, August 8: The Supreme Court Tuesday granted three months’ time to the Centre saying it was the last opportunity for it to discuss with the Jammu and Kashmir government a host of issues including whether the majority Muslims community in the state could be regarded as a minority to avail benefits under the category.
A bench of Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justices A K Goel and D Y Chandrachud considered the submission of the central government that it has been holding consultations with the state government and eight weeks’ more time be given for apprising the court about its stand on the matter.
Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said the government has been holding discussions “at all levels”. The court, which was critical of the stand taken by the J-K government in its recent affidavit, however, said the state government has not taken part in all processes initiated by the Centre due to prevailing situation in the Valley.
The bench then noted that the matter was “at an advanced stage” and granted three months’ time as the last opportunity to the Centre to apprise it about the outcome of the consultations. Earlier, the court had issued notice to the Centre, the state government and the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) on the plea filed by Jammu-based advocate Ankur Sharma who alleged that benefits accruing to the minorities were being taken away by the 68 per cent-strong Muslim community in J-K.
The court had asked the Centre and the state government to “sit together” and find a solution to “contentious” issues including whether the Muslims in the state could be regarded as a minority and avail benefits under the category. The state government had then said that it was willing to sit and try to find a solution to the issue.
The plea has alleged that the rights of religious and linguistic ‘minorities’ in the state were being “siphoned off illegally and arbitrarily” due to extension of benefits to “unqualified sections” of the population. Sharma alleged the provisions of the National Commission for Minorities Act were not applicable to Jammu and Kashmir due to a caveat put by Article 370 of the Constitution.