Earlier Allahabad High Court had scrapped the minority status of AMU
Several parties, including AMU, have challenged the high court judgement in SC
By A Correspondent / New Delhi
Seven judges bench of Supreme Court will now decide if Aligarh Muslim University, AMU is a Minority institution or not. Today’s SC order says that the present case will also discuss the amendment in the Minority Educational Institutions Act of 2010. Rajeev Dhawan on behalf of AMU argued that this issue needs to be sent to a larger bench from the current three judge bench. “All these issues will be now discussed by seven judge bench of SC”.
Earlier Allahabad High Court had scrapped the minority status of AMU.
Several parties, including AMU, have challenged the high court judgement in the Supreme Court.
The high court judgement was mainly based on the Aziz Basha judgment of SC in which the court had held that AMU was not a Minority institution because it was established by an Act of Parliament, and not by Minorities.
AMU has argued that Aziz Basha needs revisit as it is bad in law. AMU was established long before by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and it existed as a college. However, to get the status of University it has to be passed by an Act of Parliament. It was passed by an Act of Parliament for this technical reason. It couldn’t be construed that it was established by Parliament and not by Minorities.
Also, the current case will discuss the TMA Pai judgement on Minority institutions. The said judgement was referred to a seven judge bench and then to 11 judge bench in 1981. However this reference has not been answered yet.
It has to decide what a Minority institution is, how it is established and how it will run.
Also, the current AMU case will discuss whether a university can be a Minority institution or not. Earlier judgement has held that a college can be Minority (like St Stephens and St Xavier’s etc) but a university cannot be Minority.
AG on behalf of Centre also proposed that he would frame the questions if the court wants to refer this to a larger bench.
CJI however said the questions have already been framed in the earlier judgement. Therefore this case is being sent to a seven judge bench.