By a 4:3 majority, a seven-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on Friday paved the way for declaring the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU a minority institution as it overruled its 1967 judgment in S Azeez Basha case that said an educational institution can claim ‘minority’ status only if it is established and administered by a minority community.
The majority verdict was delivered by CJI DY Chandrachud (for himself, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra) while Justice Surya Kant, Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice SC Sharma delivered separate dissenting verdicts.
The verdict sets a judicial precedent for a similar legal battle over the status for the Jamia Millia Islamia University, which was declared a minority institution during the UPA government in 2011. In a minority institution, SCs, STs and OBCs do not get reservation in admission.
The majority verdict, authored by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, held that the word “established” in Article 30(1) must be given a broad meaning. The majority verdict stated: “The word established as used in article 30(1) cannot and should not be understood in a narrow and legalistic sense. The words used in clause 1 of article 30 have to be interpreted in view of the object and purpose of the article and the guarantee and protection it confers.”
After laying down the broad guidelines for deciding minority status of an educational institution under Article 30 of the Constitution, the majority directed that the specific case on the minority status of the AMU be placed before the CJI for being placed before an appropriate Bench for adjudication.
The question with regard to the minority status of the AMU must be decided on the basis of the tests laid down in the present case, the majority said.
However, the minority (Justice Kant, Justice Datta and Justice Sharma) ruled that a two-judge Bench could not have directly referred the matter to a seven-judge Bench.
While Justice Datta declared that the AMU was not a minority institution under Article 30, Justice Sharma said, “To assume that minorities of the country require a safe haven to pursue education is incorrect and minorities are a part of the mainstream now partaking in equal opportunities.”
