Legality & Validity of Sachar Committee Report Challenged in Supreme Court; Stay Sought on Further Implementation of Report
(Judicial Quest News Network)
Six Members of a Hindu organisation Sanatan Vedic Dharma have approached the Supreme Court challenging the legality and validity of the 2006 Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee report on the social, economical and educational status of Muslim community.
Committee had given suggestions and solutions for the inclusive development of Muslims in India.
The Sachar Committee was constituted by A notification No.850/3/C/3/05-Pol from Prime Minister Office, Government of India on 9th March 2005 was issued constituting a High-Level Committee under the Chairmanship of Justice Rajinder Sachar, to prepare a report on the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community of India.
Petition filed through Supreme Court Advocates Hari Shanker Jain and Vishnu Shanker Jain said the notification was issued from the office of Prime Minster and nowhere mentions it was issued after any cabinet decision.
The petitioner’s have argued that it’s clear the then Prime minister Mr. Manmohan Singh on his own whims issued the direction appointing the committee to enquire into the social, economic and educational status of Muslim Community.
It is argued that no religious community is entitled for special treatment over and above the similarly situated persons belonging to the same category in other community but the members of Hindu community are being denied such treatment only on the ground of religion which is prohibited by Article 15(1) of the Constitution of India.
It is pointed the entire Muslim community has not been identified as socially and educationally backward class and therefore, Muslims as a religious community cannot be treated as a special class entitled for benefits available to backward classes.
Comparing the social and economic background of Muslim Community with other back ward communities’ Muslim community is not entitled for any special treatment for the simple reason that they were the rulers for long number of years and even during British rule they enjoyed and shared the power, whereas SC/ST category and OBCs of Hindu community were suppressed, tortured, butchered, converted either by force or by allurement and had to face atrocities in pre-independent era.
It was submitted that the Muslim the committee failed to understand that the Muslim parents are more interested in imparting religious education in ‘Madrasas’ to their children rather to send them to schools. They are not interested to have family planning, due to which their family is large and children do not get proper food and nourishment. All these aspects have not been considered by the committee.
Th plea prayed for a direction so that the Sachar Committee report is not relied upon by the government today to create or impart any new schemes or run schemes in favour of Muslims.
