The Supreme Court has delivered a significant verdict in the case regarding the granting of minority status to Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). The 7-member bench announced that the case would be referred to another bench for further deliberation.
A three-judge bench will now decide whether AMU qualifies as a minority institution and will establish the criteria for such a classification. The court acknowledged that there was no agreement on this matter during today’s hearing. Out of the seven judges, four, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI), expressed one opinion, while three judges disagreed. As a result, the court overruled a 1967 judgment that had denied AMU minority status. Additionally, the court emphasized that it must be proven that AMU was established by a minority group.
During the hearing, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud questioned the criteria for defining an educational institution as a minority institution. He asked whether an institution should be considered a minority institution solely because it is established and managed by a religious or linguistic minority.
The Chief Justice noted that various religious communities in India can establish educational institutions, but they should not be allowed to manage them without proper regulation. He warned that failing to control this could weaken Article 30 of the Constitution, which ensures the right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions.
Although the majority of the bench wrote the verdict, three judges expressed their disagreement. The court has decided to form a three-member bench to resolve the matter of AMU’s minority status.
The Supreme Court delivered this verdict after reviewing a case from the Allahabad High Court in 2006, which ruled that AMU was not a minority institution. The case was later brought to the Supreme Court, where a three-judge bench heard it. In 2019, the matter was transferred to a 7-member bench for further examination.
In 1967, the Supreme Court ruled that AMU is a Central University and could not be recognized as a minority institution, as it was established under a Central Act and its degrees were officially recognized. While the university may have been founded with efforts from the Muslim minority, this did not automatically qualify it as a minority institution.
The decision was upheld by the Allahabad High Court, sparking widespread protests across the country. In 2016, the central government took a stand, asserting that the establishment of minority institutions would contradict the principle of a secular state.