On December 7, the Supreme Court's division bench deliberated whether it should postpone deciding whether Scheduled Caste benefits should be extended to Dalit converts to Christianity and Islam pending the report of a new inquiry commission appointed by the Central government. A Bench of Justices SK Kaul, Abhay S Oka, and Vikram Nath was deliberating on a 2004 petition filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) seeking the extension of such reservation benefits to Dalit converts to Islam and Christianity.

"The first aspect to be dealt with is whether this Court should stay its hands till the report of this Commission comes or whether it should proceed on the basis of material on record," the Court said in its order.

Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta informed the Court that the Central government had decided not to accept the Commission's report and had instead established a new Commission to be led by former Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan.

However, Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing CPIL, contended that this would only postpone the adjudication of the now 18-year-old petition until the new Commission completed its investigation, which could take another two years.

According to the affidavit filed by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, there is no authentic data to suggest that Dalit Christians or Muslims have faced the same harsh environment as Dalit Hindus and, as a result, cannot claim the advantages to which Scheduled Castes are obligated to.

As a result, the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order of 1950, which grants Scheduled Caste status only to Hindu, Buddhist, or Sikh communities, is not unconstitutional, according to the Centre.

"There is no documented research and precise authentic information available to establish that the disabilities and handicaps suffered by the SC members in the social order of its origin Hinduism with their oppressive severity in the environment of Christianity or Islam."

It was also stated that Christians and Muslims are entitled to not only 27% OBC reservation, but also benefits from development schemes for OBCs such as post-secondary scholarships, hostels, and other income-generating activities carried out by the National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation.

Case Title: CPIL v. Union of India