AMU Minority Status News:  In a landmark verdict on Friday, the Supreme Court overruled a 1967 ruling which denied the minority institution status to the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). The decision was pronounced by a seven-judge constitution bench, presided by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, with a majority of 4-3. The bench comprised Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Surya Kant, JB Pardiwala, Dipankar Datta, Manoj Misra and SC Sharma.

However, the question of whether AMU be granted minority status will be determined by a regular bench, the order noted. The SC decision on AMU's status is being seen as a key precedent in Indian legal history with potential ramifications on various subjects relating to the Freedom of Religion guaranteed by the Constitution. The AMU decision came after a long legal battle which witnessed several deliberations by the top court.

Let's have a look at the history of AMU minority status cases -

The controversy over the minority status of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) started in 1965 when the then central government amended the AMU Act on 20 May 1965 and abolished the autonomy of the institution, inviting a legal challenge by Azeez Basha in the Supreme Court in 1968.

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In 1967, a five-judge bench of the apex court ruled against the notion that AMU was a minority institution. AMU was not a party in the Azeez Basha case and a decision was passed to this effect. While initially in 1972, the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi accepted the ruling, it changed its stance in 1981 after protests erupted over the government decision in AMU.

In 1981, the Indira Gandhi government amended the AMU Act and provided minority status to the University.

The case again rose to the limelight in 2006 when some Hindu students challenged a 50% reservation for Muslim students in AMU’s JN Medical College in the Allahabad High Court. The High Court ruled that AMU cannot be classified as a minority institution which prompted the University to challenge the ruling in the apex court. AMU’s appeal has kept the case pending in the Supreme Court ever since.