SC overrides 1967 Verdict that removed AMU's minority tag

The Supreme Court on Friday, by a 4-3 majority, overturned its 1967 decision in the Azeez Basha case that denied minority status for the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), holding that AMU's status would need to be reassessed based on principles and direction defined in the present judgment.

- Utkarsh Anand

Marking a turning point in how institutions with potential minority character could be interpreted under the Indian Constitution, the majority opinion, authored by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud on his last working day before demitting office, provided a detailed framework for assessing whether an institution qualifies as minority-owned and administered under Article 30(1), while adding that AMU's minority status will be examined afresh by a new bench on factors such as its historical context, administrative structure and the intentions of its founders.

In 1967, the Azeez Basha judgment by a five-judge bench had declared that AMU was neither established nor administered by a Muslim minority community, disqualifying it from minority status under Article 30. Parliament subsequently amended the AMU Act in 1981 to recognise AMU's origins within the Muslim community, but a 2006 Allahabad high court decision invalidated these amendments, leading to renewed legal debate on AMU's minority character before the seven-judge bench.

At the core of the CJI's judgment, supported by justices Sanjiv Khanna, JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, was a refined understand ing of Article 30(1) that guarantees religious and linguistic minorities the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. According to the majority, any legislation or executive action that discriminates against minorities in establishing or running educational institutions is unconstitutional an interpretation that aims to protect minority communities from undue state interference, while also granting them a higher degree of autonomy in managing institutions they have established or "founded".