NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain a plea seeking minority status for Hindus in eight states and UTs where they are substantially fewer in number in comparison to other communities and allowed the petitioner to approach the HC.

A bench of Justices R F Nariman and S Ravindra Bhat tur ned down BJP functionary Ashwini Upadhyay ’s plea to lay down guidelines to grant minority status to a community on the basis of state-wise population.

The petitioner contended that Hindus are in minority in Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab , Lakshadweep , Mizoram, Nagaland , Meghalaya , Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. He said Hindus should be allowed to avail welfare schemes meant for minorities in these states. Upadhyay said minority status should be decided at the state level and not at the national level.

