The nearly hundred-year-old Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is fighting a court battle over its minority status. The Supreme Court has questioned its claim of being a minority institution. On Wednesday, a seven-member Constitution bench said that when there are only 37 Muslims in the 180-member Governing Council of the university, then how can this university be a minority institution?

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SC asks AMU to prove its claim

The division bench, comprised of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Sanjeev Khanna, Justice Surya Kant, Justice JB Pardiwala, Justice Dipankar Dutta, Justice Manoj Mishra, and Justice Satish Sharma, has directed the university management to prove the institution’s identity as a minority institution. On behalf of the institution, senior counsel Rajiv Dhawan argued the case.

Is AMU a minority Institution?

During this, the bench called Rajeev Dhavan’s attention to the structure of AMU’s Governing Council, which is referred to as the ‘court of the University’ under the AMU Act, and inquired whether its anti-Muslim orientation will have any impact on the university’s minority educational institution (MEI). Can the claim of existence be weakened?

What does Article 30(1) Says on the case?

In response, Dhavan stated that all religious and linguistic minority populations have the right under Article 30(1) of the Constitution to “establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.” He said that in 1875, Muslims built the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College, which was eventually renamed Aligarh Muslim University in 1920.

Following that, as soon as the discussion on university patronage began, the CJI queried whether the law required 37 of the 180 members to be Muslims. “Does this have any bearing on the fact that a minority institution should be governed by the minority community itself?” he inquired. Is 37 Muslim members out of 180 adequate for a minority organization if the administration is protected by Article 30?” “Does it meet the qualifications to qualify as a minority institution?”

In response, Dhavan stated that because the institution was founded by the minority community and its goal was to serve the needs of the minority community, its administration didn’t need to be run entirely by the minority community to maintain the institution’s minority status. There is a necessity to only control.

Dhawan also argued, saying, “All of AMU’s Vice-Chancellors have been Muslims since its inception.” As a result, it can legitimately be argued that it is administered by the minority group. Other aspects of AMU are Islamic in origin as well. Only because there is government participation in the administration, the university’s minority identity cannot be disregarded, especially because it was founded by Muslims for the educational upliftment of Muslims.”

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the central government, stated that AMU is neither a university of any particular religion or religious group, nor can it be, because any university designated as a national institution cannot be a minority institution. Is. Let us remind you that the Central Government has rejected the university’s minority status, which was granted by Manmohan Singh’s UPA government.

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