New Delhi: As the case concerning the minority status of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) remains pending in the Supreme Court, veteran Samajwadi Party member and former Union Minister Ramjilal Suman has introduced a Private Member Bill in the Rajya Sabha, seeking the restoration of the university’s minority character. Suman pointed out that until the government amended the AMU Act of 1920 through the Amendment Act of 1965, no one questioned that the institution was founded by Muslims, primarily for the benefit of the Muslim community.
AMU’s minority status was initially restored by a parliamentary amendment in December 1981, which declared that the university had been established by the “Muslims of India.” However, in 2005, the Allahabad High Court struck down AMU’s minority status, basing its decision on a 1967 Supreme Court ruling that AMU was not a minority institution. Given that the Modi government has opposed AMU’s minority character, Ramjilal Suman moved the private bill to address the issue.
In 2005, AMU reserved 50% of seats in its postgraduate medical courses for Muslim students. This policy was challenged in Allahabad High Court in Dr. Naresh Agarwal v. Union of India, where the court invalidated the reservation. AMU and the Union government appealed the decision in the Supreme Court in 2006. However, in 2016, the Modi-led NDA government withdrew from the appeal. Despite this, AMU and other affiliated organizations continued to pursue the case.
In 2019, the Supreme Court’s three-judge bench referred the case to a larger seven-judge bench for reconsideration. On October 12, 2023, CJI D.Y. Chandrachud formed a seven-judge bench to hear the matter, with hearings beginning on January 9, 2024. After eight days of arguments, the court reserved its judgment on February 1, 2024.
The case centres on whether AMU qualifies as a minority institution under Article 30 of the Constitution, which guarantees religious minorities the right to establish and manage educational institutions of their choice. The SC is also reconsidering the 1967 Azeez Basha vs. Union of India ruling, where it was held that AMU did not have minority status because it was established by the British government through the AMU Act of 1920.
As the CJI Chandrachud set to retire soon, it is widely anticipated that the ruling could be announced any time now.
