The Supreme Court of India is poised to deliver a landmark verdict today, Friday, on the long-standing question of whether the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is a minority institution under Article 30 of the Constitution. This ruling will have significant implications for the university’s autonomy, its ability to administer its own affairs, and its policies regarding student and faculty admissions.
Article 30 empowers religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutions in India. The case centers around the 1981 amendment to the AMU Act, which effectively accorded the university minority status. The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, will pronounce its verdict on this crucial issue, marking the culmination of an eight-day hearing where both sides presented their arguments.
The court, while reserving its verdict on February 1st, expressed concern that the 1981 amendment had only partially restored the university’s position prior to 1951, leaving a critical gap in its standing. This ambiguity has been the subject of extensive legal debate for decades.
If the court rules against AMU’s minority status, the university will be required to implement reservation policies for both faculty and students mirroring those of other public universities. This could lead to a significant shift in the university’s composition, potentially impacting its historical identity and its commitment to providing educational opportunities for the Muslim community.
However, a verdict in favor of AMU’s minority status would allow the university to implement its own internal reservation policies, potentially reserving up to 50% of its seats for Muslim students. This would preserve the university’s autonomy and its ability to shape its educational environment in line with its historical mission.
The Supreme Court’s decision will be closely watched by the legal community, the education sector, and the broader public. It will have far-reaching consequences for the future of AMU, a university with a rich history dating back to 1875, when it was founded as the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. The verdict will also set a precedent for the interpretation of Article 30 and its impact on minority educational institutions in India.
This case has been a legal battleground for decades, with the Supreme Court itself revisiting the issue multiple times. Notably, the 1967 judgement in the S.Azeez Basha V Union of India case declared AMU not to be a minority institution. This was challenged by the 1981 amendment, which the government, under then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, sought to enforce. The NDA government, however, argued that the 1981 amendment did not completely restore the university’s original status and thus AMU should be governed as a central university.
The Allahabad High Court’s decision in 2006, which struck down the 1981 amendment, was subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court. Today’s verdict will finally resolve this long-standing issue, impacting the university’s future and setting a precedent for similar cases involving minority institutions across the country.
