The Supreme Court today asked the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir government to sit together and decide contentious issues including the question whether Muslims can be treated as minority in the state.
A bench comprising Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justices D Y Chandrachud and S K Kaul asked both the governments to resolve the issue and submit a report to it within four weeks. The bench said, this is a very very important issue and both should sit together and take a stand on it.
Last month, the apex court had imposed a cost of 30,000 rupees on Centre for not filing its reply to a PIL alleging that minority benefits are being enjoyed by majority Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir. It had accorded a last opportunity to the Centre to file its reply, saying the matter is very important. The court had allowed the counsel for the Centre to file the response after depositing the cost.
Earlier, the top court had issued notice to the Centre, the state government and the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) on the plea filed by Jammu-based advocate alleging that benefits accruing to minorities were being taken away by Muslims, who were in a majority in Jammu and Kashmir.