AMU Minority Status Row: In a landmark verdict on Friday, the Supreme Court, by a 4-3 majority, overturned its 1967 ruling (S Azeez Basha vs Union Of India case) that denied granting a minority status to Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh. The top court held that the minority status of AMU will not cease merely because the Parliament enacted a law to govern the institution, or because it has been administered by non-minority members.
"The view in Azeez Basha that minority character stops when statute comes into force is overruled. Whether AMU is a minority or not will be decided as per this (today's) judgment," the Court held.
The seven-judge bench further said that a fresh bench will now decide whether Aligarh Muslim Unversity is a minority institution or not, based on the fact of who established the institution and who was the "driving force" behind its creation. "If this inquiry reveals that the institution was established by members of the minority community, it is entitled to minority status under Article 30 of the Constitution," it said.
"The court has to consider the genesis of the institute and court must see who was the brain behind establishment of the institution. It has to be seen who got funds for the land and if minority community helped," the Court said, as reported by Bar and Bench.
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The apex court by a 4:3 majority said the judicial records of the case should be placed before the CJI for setting up a fresh bench to decide the validity of a 2006 Allahabad High Court verdict. In January 2006, the high court struck down the provision of the 1981 law by which AMU was accorded minority status.
A five-judge Constitution bench in the S Azeez Basha versus Union of India case in 1967 held that since AMU was a central university, it could not be considered a minority institution. However, the fabled institution got back its minority status when Parliament passed the AMU (Amendment) Act in 1981.
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The top court also held that Article 30 of the Indian Constitution, which confers fundamental right on minorities to establish and administer educational institutions, is not restricted to institutions established only after the Constitution came into force, but extends to those set up by minority communities even before the Constitution's adoption.
The verdict came following a batch of petitions concerning the status of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and its entitlement to minority status under Article 30 of the Indian Constitution. The top court reserved its judgment on the matter in February this year following an eight-day hearing.
(With Agency Inputs)