A city-based lawyer has complained to the National Commission of Minorities about a discriminatroy advertisement put out by a property dealers portal, www.99acres.com. The complaint states that the portal advertised a property site in Dadar (east) boasting of amenities and a ‘cosmopolitan society no Muslim’. The ad was posted on November 2.
The complainant, Shehzad Poonawala who is the founder of All India Muslim Agenda 2014, has sought action against the portal. Poonawala told dna: “Not only is the ad discriminatory and reflective of an unethical standard of business... It promises a cosmopolitan society but excludes Muslims from seeking residence therein.”
Poonawala said the minorities panel is likely to take up the issue during the coming week. He added that if a decision is not made, he would file a public interest litigation.
In a statement, Vineet Singh, business head of 99acres.com, said, “We are deeply embarrassed that our website was misused in this manner. We are in the process of putting in place checks and processes to prevent recurrence of such acts.”
