Is it permissible for a student of knowledge to describe a person's action as a bid'ah (religious innovation)?

Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: Is it permissible for a student of knowledge to rule that a person is an innovator, meaning to apply the ruling to him, or is this specific to scholars only?

Answer:
It is necessary to establish that the matter is a bid'ah, and only scholars know this. Only the people of knowledge know the difference between bid'ah and the Sunnah. So one should refer to the people of knowledge and ask them whether it is a bid'ah or not.