Supreme Court  overruled the 1967 judgment in S Azeez Basha versus Union of India case which held that an institution incorporated by a statute cannot claim to be a minority institution. A seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court was hearing the case related to minority status of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Supreme Court added that status of AMU, whether it is a minority institution or not is left to be decided by a regular bench. The seven-judge Constitution bench in a 4:3 majority overruled the Allahabad High Court’s decision of 1967.

The bench comprised of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, JB Pardiwala, Manoj Misra, Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, Satish Chandra Sharma headed by Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud. The bench was hearing a plea on reference that arose out of the Allahabad High Court’s 2006 verdict, which held that AMU was not a minority institution.

The High Court had ruled that AMU can’t claim minority status as it was established by statute. However, announcing SC’s decision, CJI held that an institution will not lose its minority status merely because it was created by a statute. The majority held that the Court must examine who established the University and who was the “brain” behind it. If that enquiry is pointing towards minority community, then the institution can claim minority status as per Article 30. For this factual determination, the Constitution Bench relegated the matter to a regular bench, reported the Live Law.

Reaction On Supreme Court’s Decision

Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali, Member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision on AMU minority status. Speaking to ANI, Khalid Rasheed said, “We welcome the decision of the Supreme Court in which it has overruled its decision of 1967 in which it was decided the AMU will not be a minority institution. I think SC’s decision will go a long way in deciding the minority status of AMU. I think all the historical facts are before us and we will certain those before the 3-judges bench…..The biggest question is if Aligarh Muslim University is not considered to be a minority institution, then which institution will be considered as a minority institution and what will happen to Article 30A?”