Aligarh Muslim University Supreme Court 4:3 decision: Under Article 30, which gives religious and linguistic minorities the right to establish and run their own educational institutions, AMU was granted minority status.
The seven-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Friday delivered a 4:3 verdict overturning an important 1967 judgement that would have ended the minority status of Aligarh Muslim University. But the decision has now been referred to a regular (not yet formed) three-judge bench to decide whether the institution can be granted minority status again.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, who led the hearing by writing the majority judgement on his last day of work, struck down the earlier ruling which said an institution created by a statute has no right to claim minority status. But, in the AMU case, this question has now been left for the regular bench.
The teen judges who dissent in today’s Constitution bench were Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and SC Sharma, while the outgoing Chief Justice along with teen other judges – Justice Sanjiv Khanna (who will be the next Chief Justice), Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra, formed the majority.
Aligarh Muslim University Supreme Court 4:3 decision: Majority Verdict
While reading the majority verdict, the Chief Justice stressed the need to understand the point of the original beginning of the university – it is important to understand its genesis so that its minority status can be established.
AMU was ‘incorporated’ under imperial legislation – it was established in 1875 as Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College and in 1920 the British Raj converted it into a university – this does not mean that it was not ‘established’ by members of the minority community, the court said.
An important point is that the court said that it is not necessary that an institution be established only for the benefit of the minority community or that its administration should be with the members of that community only.
The court also said that minority institutions can also emphasize secular education.
The majority ruled that it should be seen whether the administrative structure is in accordance with its claimed minority character or not, as in the case of AMU. The court also said that the government can regulate minority educational institutions, just in such a way that their character is not affected.
Aligarh Muslim University Supreme Court 4:3 decision: Dissent
Among the dissenting judges, Justice Datta said that AMU is not a minority institution, while Justice Sharma said that the minority community should control the institutions for its people without any interference. But they should also give the option of secular education to the students, he said.
Aligarh Muslim University Supreme Court 4:3 decision: Case Background
Article 30 ke tahat, jo dharmik aur bhashai alp-sankhyak samudayon ko shikshan sansthan sthapit aur prashasit karne ka adhikaar deta hai, AMU ne alp-sankhyak darja paya tha.
Aligarh Muslim University ki sthaapna 1875 mein hui thi aur ise 1920 mein imperial kanoon ke tahat shamil kiya gaya tha.
