Fraud' : Supreme Court On General Candidates Seeking Medical Admission As Buddhist Converts, Asks How Minority Certificates Given LIVELAW 28 Jan 2026
புத்த மதம் மாறியதாகக் காட்டி இட ஒதுக்கீடு, மற்ற பயன்கள் - புதிய மோசடி- உச்ச நீதிமன்றம்
‘Upper castes converting on paper to get minority benefits’: SC seeks report
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed serious concern over what it described as a “new type of fraud”, involving individuals from upper-caste Hindu backgrounds in Haryana allegedly converting to Buddhism solely to claim minority reservation benefits, and sought a report from the State Chief Secretary on the issue.
A two-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a petition filed by Nikhil Kumar Punia, a resident of Hisar, who sought admission as a minority candidate on the basis of his claimed Buddhist faith. Reacting sharply to the submission, the Chief Justice remarked, “Wow! This is a new kind of fraud,” and asked the Haryana government to explain the process by which religious minority certificates were being issued in the State.
The court directed the Chief Secretary to clarify the guidelines governing the issuance of minority certificates and to state whether it was permissible for an upper-caste general category candidate to claim minority status in such circumstances. During the hearing, the Bench questioned the petitioner’s caste background. “You are a Punia? What minority are you from? Let me ask this bluntly now. Which Punia are you?” the court observed.
In response, counsel for the petitioner stated Punia belonged to Jat Punia community, which falls under the general category. When the Bench expressed scepticism over the minority claim, the counsel argued that the petitioner had converted to Buddhism and that conversion was a matter of personal choice and religious freedom.
However, the court noted that such claims could deprive “genuine minority candidates” of their legal rights and refused to grant any relief to the petitioner, while dismissing the plea.
No comments:
Post a Comment