Sc Upholds Scrapping Of Maharashtra Minorities Panel

The Supreme Court held yesterday that the abolition of the Maharashtra minorities commission, set up by the erstwhile Congress government, would not adversely affect the interests of the minorities.

The Shiv Sena government had abolished the commission, against which a public interest petition was filed in the Bombay High Court. It was dismissed. The appeal was also dismissed by a division bench consisting of Justice K Ramaswamy and Justice G T Nanavati, which upheld the abolition.

It may be that the perception of political parties differ from one another. But when the government found, after the political party was voted to power and the decision taken by the cabinet to abolish the commision, it cannot be characterised as a mala fide decision, the judgment said.

Maybe the perception may not be correct in the view of another political party. The decision may or may not be right, but it cannot be characterised as a mala fide decision, the judges asserted.

The court pointed out that the central government has been enjoined to constitute a national commission for minorities under a 1992 legislation.

Such a national commission is working and the central government has undertaken to set up a branch of the national commission in Maharashtra.

Therefore, there was no need for apprehension that the rights and the safeguards given to the minorities would not be monitored, according to the judgment.

The court further clarified that state governments are not obliged to set up such commissions under any law. The obligation lies only on the central government. Therefore the court cannot direct any such government to establish a minorities commission, the judgment said.