The Supreme Court of India bench comprising seven judges ruled 4:3 to overturn a 1967 judgement on the Aligarh Muslim University, which removed minority status. However, the case was left to a three-judge bench to decide if AMU should be granted minority status again.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, who headed the bench, said there were four separate opinions, including three dissenting verdicts. The CJI stated that he had written the majority verdict for himself and Justices Sanjiv Kumar, JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra.
CJI said that Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma had penned their separate dissenting verdicts. The bench had reserved its verdict on the question on February 1 after hearing arguments for eight days. On February 1, grappling with the intractable issue of the AMU's minority status, the top court said the 1981 amendment to the AMU Act, which effectively accorded it a minority status, only did a "half-hearted job" and did not restore to the institution the position it had prior to 1951.
Also Read | SC overturns 1967 judgment denying AMU minority status; new Bench to decide.
Under Article 30 of the Constitution - which empowers religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutions - AMU had enjoyed minority status. The AMU Act of 1920 outlines incorporation of a teaching and residential Muslim university at Aligarh, but an amendment in 1951 removed mandatory religious instructions for students.
Senior advocate MR Shamshad said that AMU was established by minority and administered by minority - that's what was contended and that has been the case of Aligarh Muslim University since the beginning. "The 1967 judgment stated that if Parliament has passed a legislation, then the word established will be treated as if it has been established by Parliament and not by minority," he added.
"That view has been overruled by the five judges. Now, in terms of this judgment, the regular bench will decide the matter. The main issue is whether it was established by minority or it has been administered by minority. If it is established by minority then the matter ends. Obviously, in this process, the court will examine whether it has been administered or not. Now, this issue will have to be argued before the regular bench and the regular bench will decide this matter." senior advocate MR Shamshad said.
Lawyer & petitioner Azam Mir said, " The court 4:3 held that the 1963 judgement which held that AMU is not a minority institution was incorrect and it is overruled. It has set parameters for what is required for an institution to be established by a minority."
"AMU honours the decision of the SC... For now, we are dedicated to maintaining academic actions, nation-building, and inclusivity," AMU PRO Omar Saleem Peerzada said.
Member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali, welcomed the apex court verdict and said all the historical facts are before us, and we will certain those before the 3-judges bench.
"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," Maulana Khalid told news agency ANI.
Maulana Khalid Rasheed said, "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?"
On the Supreme Court's ruling that Aligarh Muslim University is entitled to minority status under Article 30, a local said, "We express our gratitude and hold this decision in high regard. The Supreme Court's ruling is a historic one for our AMU. Today is a landmark day for us, one that will be etched in golden words."
An AMU student said, "We are very happy that the decision is in our favor, and the Supreme Court has listened to our concerns..." AMU student union leader Faisal Rais Gandhi said, "The decision is constitutional and welcome. We hoped that the Constitution of India would prevail, and Aligarh Muslim University would retain its minority status."