SC verdict on AMU minority status: University celebrates ‘historic’ verdict

Supreme Court affirms minority status for Aligarh Muslim University, sparking celebrations and discussions among faculty and students.

A wave of celebration pervaded Aligarh Muslim University after the Supreme Court judgment on Friday (November 8, 2024) affirmed the right of the central university to seek minority status. Vice Chancellor Prof. Naima Khatoon said, “We humbly accept the judgment of the Constitution Bench and are discussing the details with our legal experts.”

By overruling the Azeez Pasha verdict of 1967, the Constitutional Bench had paved way for the granting of minority status to the varsity, Prof. Khatoon said. “We will continue to work hard to maintain our status as a centre of excellence.”

Speaking to The Hindu, former V-C Prof. Mohammad Gulrez, who was closely associated with the case, said, “We believe we have the documents that are required to fulfil the indicia laid down by the SC for the granting of minority status.”

Thanking the top court for defining the spirit of Article 30, Prof. Gulrez said, the Article would be diluted if it were applied prospectively only to those institutions established after the Constitution came into effect. He pointed out that the majority view of the Bench also cleared the confusion over incorporation and establishment. “Merely because AMU was incorporated by legislation would not mean that it was not established by a minority.” The judgment would impact all minority institutions and not just AMU, he added.

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Noting that the constitution of a three-judge bench to decide on the minority status of AMU was a technical compulsion, Prof. Gulrez hoped the bench would clear the minutiae of the status. “At present, there is no reservation for Muslims in academic courses [in AMU],” he said.

Prof. Khatoon and Prof. Gulrez, along with senior teachers, were in the SC premises when the judgment was pronounced.