Muslim minority status in Jammu & Kashmir: Supreme Court to hear plea today

Top court to hear a plea questioning the minority status of the Jammu and Kashmir`s Muslims

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear a plea filed by Ankur Sharma, questioning the minority status of the Jammu and Kashmir`s Muslims. Earlier, the top court asked the Centre and State Government to sit together and deal with the issue jointly.

In February, the court had imposed a cost of Rs 30,000 on the Centre for not filing its reply to a PIL alleging that minority benefits are being enjoyed by majority Muslims in the state.

Jammu-based lawyer Ankur Sharma, in his plea, has alleged that benefits accruing to minorities were being taken away by Muslims who were in a majority in Jammu and Kashmir. The plea also alleged that 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.

He has also sought directions for constitution of a minority commission in Jammu and Kashmir and extension of the National Minorities Commission Act to the state.