Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, representing AMU, argued that the institution, with its diverse student body and commitment to excellence, rightfully maintains its minority status.
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – An educational institute is not precluded from enjoying minority status solely because it is regulated by a statute. The observation came on Tuesday during the Supreme Court hearing of a case pertaining to the minority status of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on Tuesday.
A Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud and including Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Surya Kant, J.B. Pardiwala, Dipankar Datta, Manoj Misra, and Satish Chandra Sharma, underscored that under Article 30 of the Constitution, which addresses the right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions, absolute administration by a minority group is not a prerequisite for claiming such a status.
“In Article 30, we do not have to postulate that administration by the minority has to be absolute, and in a regulated society, we cannot think of the same, where all parts of our lives are regulated some way or other. So being regulated by a statute does not detract it from having a minority status,” Chief Justice Chandrachud stated.
The case revolves around the minority status of AMU, and the central legal question involves the parameters for granting such status under Article 30. Additionally, the court is examining whether a centrally-funded university, established by a parliamentary statute, can be designated as a minority institution.
The matter, initially referred to a seven-judge bench in February 2019, traces its roots to the 1968 case of S. Azeez Basha vs Union of India, where the Supreme Court declared AMU as a Central university and held that a minority status under Articles 29 and 30 of the Constitution cannot be conferred on a Central university. However, the minority status of AMU was later reinstated through an amendment to the AMU Act, prompting legal challenges.
Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, representing AMU, argued that the institution, with its diverse student body and commitment to excellence, rightfully maintains its minority status. He emphasised that AMU’s character, safeguarding Urdu as a language and providing opportunities to students of all religions, remains intact.
The hearing is set to continue on Wednesday, addressing the intricate legal and constitutional aspects surrounding the minority status of educational institutions in India.
