New Delhi. Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is entitled to minority status under Article 30 of the Constitution of India. A bench of 7 judges of the Supreme Court gave this decision with a majority of 4:3. The bench set aside its 1967 judgment which had held that Aligarh Muslim University could not claim minority status because it was created by a religious law. However, the Supreme Court has not yet decided whether AMU is a minority institution or not. For this, a bench of 3 judges of the Supreme Court will be formed. This new bench will hear this case separately and give its decision.
#BREAKING In the AMU Minority case, the Supreme Court by 4:3 majority overrules its 1967 decision which held that Aligarh Muslim University cannot claim minority status as it was created by a statute.
The issue of AMU minority status is now left to be decided by a regular bench…
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) November 8, 2024
In the seven-judge bench, CJI Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Sanjeev Khanna, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra delivered the unanimous verdict while Justice Surya Kant, Justice Dipankar Dutta and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma disagreed with it. CJI DY Chandrachud said, we have held that to be a minority institution it must be established only by a minority and not necessarily be administered by minority members.
Why did the controversy start?
Let us tell you that it was established as ‘Aligarh Muslim College’ by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan in 1875. With the grant of university status in 1920, it was named Aligarh Muslim University. Some amendments were made in the AMU Act in the years 1951 and 1965, after which these changes were legally challenged. In 1967, the Supreme Court said in its order that AMU is a central university, hence it cannot be called a minority institution. After this, in the year 1981, an amendment was made giving minority status to AMU. Allahabad High Court, in its order of 2005, had canceled the AMU Amendment Act of 1981, terming it unconstitutional. After this, the decision of Allahabad High Court was challenged in the Supreme Court by the then Central Government.