AMU judgment sets right a historical error

THE SUPREME COURT'S MAJORITY JUDGMENT HAS CLARIFIED THAT IT IS NOT NECESSARY FOR A MINORITY INSTITUTION TO HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED ONLY FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE FOUNDING MINORITY, OR FOR ADMINISTRATION TO REST ONLY WITH THE MEMBERS OF THE SAME COMMUNITY

- Tahir Mahmood

The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is not a minority institution since it was "established" not by the Muslim community but by the British rulers of India under the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Act of 1920, said the tenth Chief Justice of India (CJI), Kailas Nath Wanchoo, in his Azeez Basha verdict of October 20, 1967. On November 8, 2024, a Constitution bench of the Supreme Court headed by the 50th CJI, Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, overruled the 57-year-old verdict, proclaiming that the institution cannot lose its minority character merely because it was incorporated into a university by a legislative enactment. The new refreshing verdict indeed indicates a striking progression of the course and dimensions of justice in the country.

CJI Wanchoo's decision of 1967 had been severely criticised worldwide. An eminent constitutional law specialist of the time, Hormasji Maneckji Seervai had said "the decision is clearly wrong and productive of great public mischief, and should be overruled". And he stands duly vindicated, though over half a century later.