The Supreme Court on November 8 in its majority opinion (4:3) in the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) case held that declaring an institution to be of ‘National Importance’ would not amount to eliminating its minority character. Thus, it has overruled its 1967 decision, which had declared that Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) couldn’t claim minority status. AMU is Constitutionally recognized as “Institutions of National Importance” as per Entry 63 of List I.
The CJI, taking a holistic view of the matter, observed: “A university may well be both national and ergo, of national importance, as well as minority in character. There is no reason why a minority educational institution cannot also be an institution of national importance.”
CJI DY Chandrachud in his decision addressed the contention raised by the Union, that AMU being an institution of National Importance, should reflect the national structure, especially from the lens of social justice. The Union had pointed out that the court should employ a more rigorous examination to designate an institution as a minority institution, given that such a classification would lead to the exclusion of SC/ST/ OBC reservations.
The CJI explained that the powers of the States or Union as specified under the Scheduled Lists and the Minority rights under Article 30 can exist overlappingly but the former does not outdo the latter constitutional status.
The majority held that allowing an institution of national importance to be rid of its minority status would go on to mean that the fundamental right under Article 30(1) would stand diluted in face of such Parliamentary declarations.
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“The question of whether AMU is a minority educational institution must be decided based on the principles laid down in this judgment. The papers of this batch of cases shall be placed before the regular bench for deciding whether AMU is a minority educational institution and for the adjudication of the appeal from the decision of the Allahabad High Court in Aligarh Muslim University v. Malay Shukla 1 after receiving instructions from the Chief Justice of India on the administrative side,” said the Judgment.
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Those fighting for minority states were optimistic that regular bench will now decide this matter, and hopefully, the landmark judgment will pave the way for this prestigious institution to regain its minority status after several decades. Minority status for this esteemed university would provide many benefits, including granting the institution more autonomy. It would also enable AMU to address the educational backwardness within the Muslim community to a large extent, and make it eligible for government grants and aid specifically meant for minority institutions.
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