Judicial power given to state minorities panel

MANGALURU: The state government has conferred judicial powers to Karnataka State Minorities Commission, chairperson Bilkis Banu said. While other commissions set up by the state government already had such powers, the Karnataka State Minorities Commission was not one among them. This confers the commission with civil powers including the right to issue summons, she said.
Interacting with reporters, Bilkis said the commission is aware of the issue faced by schools run by minorities in obtaining recognition certificate. If 25% of students studying in such institutions are children from minority community, those schools will get recognition as an educational institution with minority status, she said. This rule has been brought in place to provide education to children from minority communities.
Referring to the recent instance of a Hindu vigilante group creating ruckus in a school on the pretext that Arabic was being taught there, Bilkis said she visited the school in Bondanthila. The students were being taught Arabic, German and other foreign languages to equip them with new skills.
Bilkis said the commission will take appropriate action after obtaining reports from the city police commissioner.