The Supreme Court issued notice to the Central government on Tuesday on a petition seeking reservation for Dalits, who have converted to Islam or Christianity, on par with the benefits reserved for Hindu Dalits.
The Apex Court gave the Centre three weeks time to respond, while giving one-week time to the other side, after the filing of reply by the Union government.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta requested for adjournment during the hearing, stating that the matter has been listed after a long time.
Appearing for the petitioner, Advocate Prashant Bhushan contended that if the reservation was provided, then the Dalit Christians, who were usually better educated, they will corner the recruitment.
In 2021, the then Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had stated in the Rajya Sabha that Dalits, who had shunned their faith and converted to Islam and Christianity, will not be permitted to contest Parliamentary or Assembly elections from constituencies reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC), and will also not be allowed to claim other reservation benefits.
He had further quoted Para 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, stating that a person professing a religion other than Hindu, Sikhism or Buddhism, could not be deemed member of a Scheduled Caste.
He also noted that in 1950, the Central government led by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, had passed an order, limiting the definition of ‘Scheduled Caste’ only to the members of Hinduism, which was later extended to the Sikhs in 1956 and to the Buddishts in 1990.