The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a petition seeking directions to the Union government to consider members of minority communities other than Muslims and Sikhs for appointment as the Chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM).
A bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed that the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 mandates that the Commission must include members belonging to minority communities, but does not require that the Chairperson be from any specific community.
“Be that as it may, Section 3 of the Act only provides 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 noted.
It further clarified that “the provision does not provide that the members or the Chairperson shall be from a particular minority community.”
The petition was filed by Salek Chand Jain, who contended that while Section 3 of the Act stipulates that the Chairperson and members must be drawn from minority communities, successive appointments have shown disproportionate representation.
Jain pointed out that of the 16 individuals appointed as NCM Chairperson so far, 14 have been Muslims and two Sikhs. According to him, other notified minority communities — Christians, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, and Jains — have never been represented in the position.
He urged the court to direct the Union government to consider members from all recognized minority communities to ensure equitable representation.
The bench, however, declined to issue such directions, stating that the Act did not support the petitioner’s interpretation. It granted Jain liberty to submit a detailed representation to the government outlining his grievance regarding lack of representation.
The court said that if such a representation is made, “the same shall be considered by the authorities concerned in accordance with law.”
