A public interest litigation was filed in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, seeking minority status for Hindus in seven states and one Union territory so that they can get the benefits accordingly.

The plea, filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, says that the rights of Hindus in these states were being taken away “illegally and arbitrarily” because neither the Centre nor the states have notified the faith as a minority under the National Commission of Minorities Act.

The plea seeks minority status for Hindus in Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Punjab. The petition cites Census figures for Hindu population in the states to show they were in the minority.

It also said that the Centre’s 1993 notification that Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis are minorities was “arbitrary and irrational”, and should be scrapped. Muslims, despite being in majority in Lakshadweep and Jammu and Kashmir, have the minority status because of the 1993 notification, said the petition, accessed by Live Law. It also gave examples of Christians in Mizoram, Meghalaya and Nagaland and Sikhs in Punjab.