New Delhi: The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition by a brother-sister doctor duo from Haryana who attempted to gain admission under the minority quota by converting to Buddhism. The bench, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Suryakant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, has also taken suo motu notice to examine whether a person born to affluent upper-caste parents can claim minority status through religious conversion to avail educational benefits.
The Background
The siblings, hailing from the wealthy village of Satrod Kalan in Hisar district, cleared the NEET-PG exam and sought admission to a postgraduate medical program in Uttar Pradesh. The institution claimed minority status for the Buddhist community, which the duo challenged in court.
Their lawyer argued that the Uttar Pradesh government had not recognized the institute’s minority status and was thereby blocking their admission. He also noted that the siblings had adopted Buddhism for the sake of quota benefits, which, according to him, falls under fraudulent practices.
Court Examination
The bench reviewed the NEET-PG applications and found that both had initially applied under the general category. However, after allegedly converting to Buddhism, they obtained minority certificates from the Deputy Commissioner in Hisar last year.
Chief Justice Suryakant questioned the legitimacy of this conversion for quota purposes:
“You belong to the Jat community, which is a general category. How then do you become a minority?”
Despite claims by the siblings’ lawyer that anyone can adopt Buddhism, the Chief Justice said:
“This is yet another way to commit fraud… You are attempting to deprive genuine minority communities of their rights. You come from wealthy, upper-caste families with land and resources. You should take pride in your achievements, not in usurping the rights of those who are truly disadvantaged.”
The bench further warned that if religious conversion were allowed as a shortcut to benefits, it could set a precedent for other upper-caste groups to follow suit.
Next Steps
The court has also sought a report from the Haryana government regarding the issuance of the minority certificates to the siblings. The matter of whether upper-caste individuals can claim minority status through religion-based conversion has been postponed for a detailed hearing after receiving the state’s response.
The siblings had claimed that the Subharti Medical College in Meerut had been granted minority status by the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions in August 2018, which Uttar Pradesh had not recognized. They requested admission as Buddhist minority students for the 2025-26 academic session.
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