As upper-caste converts to Buddhism in Haryana sought to take advantage of the minority quota for admission to a minority-run medical college, the Supreme Court on Wednesday termed it a “new type of fraud” and asked the Chief Secretary to submit a report in two weeks explaining the procedure for issuing minority certificates.”Wow! This is a new type of fraud,” a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said while hearing a petition filed by Nikhil Kumar Punia and another person, both residents of Hisar in Haryana. They had sought admission to a postgraduate medical course under the Buddhist minority quota at Subharti Medical College, Meerut in Uttar Pradesh — a Buddhist minority educational institution.”You are a Punia? What minority are you? Let me ask this bluntly now. Which Punia are you,” asked the CJI, who himself hails from Hisar.As the petitioner’s counsel said the petitioner belonged to the Jat Punia community, the CJI wondered how he could claim minority status.The counsel said Punia had converted to Buddhism and that conversion was his right.”This is another way of fraud… You want to snatch the rights of some genuine bona fide minority (candidate)…. You are one of the richest, best located, upper caste communities… holding agricultural lands and having facilities,” CJI Kant said.As the petitioner’s counsel asserted that “We have genuinely adopted Buddhism,” the Bench shot back, “Then everybody will start… upper castes will start adopting (other religions)….Don’t compel us to make further comments.”Noting that the candidates had applied for the NEET-PG 2025 as general category candidates and had stated that they didn’t belong to the economically weaker sections, the Bench dismissed the petition. While dismissing the petition, the top court kept the issue of procedures followed in granting minority certificates for further consideration, awaiting a report from the Haryana Chief Secretary.”Let the Chief Secretary of Haryana inform: What are the guidelines for issuing a minority certificate? Is it permissible for an upper-class general category candidate, who is not covered under the economically weaker sections and who had declared himself as ‘general’ in a previous application, to subsequently declare himself as belonging to the Buddhist minority?” the Bench asked.It sought to know on what basis the SDO issued minority certificates to the petitioners.