In a significant ruling, the Delhi High Court has decided not to entertain a plea that aimed to mandate the government to consider individuals from minority communities, other than Muslims and Sikhs, for the position of Chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM).
A bench comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela pointed out that while the NCM Act does stipulate the inclusion of members from minority communities within the commission, it does not specifically require the chairperson to be from any particular community.
The court clarified, “Be that as it may, section 3 of the act only provided that the commission shall consist of a chairperson, vice chairperson, and five members. The act does not provide that the commission shall comprise all the members belonging to minority communities.”
The bench further emphasized that the existing provision ensures that the chairperson and five members are drawn from minority communities but does not specify which particular minority community they must represent.
The petitioner, Salek Chand Jain, was granted permission by the court to submit a representation to the government regarding his concerns about inadequate representation. The court assured that any such representation would be duly considered.
Jain’s petition highlighted that historically, out of 16 chairpersons appointed to the NCM, 14 have been Muslim and two have been Sikh. He argued that this composition has led to a lack of representation for other minority communities, including Christians, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, and Jains.