New Delhi [India], October 29 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Wednesday declined to entertain a petition seeking directions to the Centre 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 comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed that the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, provides for representation from minority communities in the Commission but does not mandate the appointment of a chairperson from any particular community.

'Be that as it may, Section 3 of the Act only provides that the Commission shall consist of a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson, and five members. The Act does not provide that the Commission shall comprise all the members belonging to minority communities,' the bench said.

It further clarified, 'The only provision is that five members, including the Chairperson, shall be among the minority communities. The provision does not provide that the members or the Chairperson shall be from a particular minority community.'

The court, however, granted liberty to the petitioner, Salek Chand Jain, to make a representation before the government for redressal of his grievance regarding the lack of adequate representation. The bench said that if such a representation is submitted, the government shall consider it in accordance with the law.

In his plea, Jain contended that Section 3 of the NCM Act mandates that the Chairperson and members of the Commission must be drawn from minority communities recognised under the Act.

He pointed out that since the establishment of the Minority Commission in 1978, out of 16 chairpersons appointed, 14 have been Muslims and two Sikhs, with no representation from other recognised minorities such as Christians, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, and Jains.

'The petitioner is aggrieved by the misuse of Section 3(2) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, whereby the Chairpersons have consistently been appointed from only two minority communities--Muslim and Sikh--since 1978,' the plea stated.

Calling the government's approach 'arbitrary, unreasonable and unjustifiable,' Jain alleged that it reflected 'negligence towards other minority communities who are equally recognised under the Act.'

He also claimed to have submitted multiple representations over the past two years seeking consideration of a Jain community member for the NCM Chairperson post, but without any result. (ANI)