Fri Nov 08 20:38:03 UTC 2024: ## Supreme Court Overturns 1967 Ruling, AMU’s Minority Status Still Uncertain
**New Delhi:** In a landmark decision, a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Friday overturned its 1967 ruling that declared Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) not a minority institution. However, the final verdict on whether AMU will retain its minority status remains pending and will be decided by a different bench.
The bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud was hearing a petition challenging the 2006 Allahabad High Court judgement that had stated AMU, established through a royal charter in 1920, was not a minority institution.
The 1967 Supreme Court ruling had stated that AMU’s establishment through an Act of the Central Legislature (Aligarh Muslim University Act, 1920) and not solely by the Muslim minority disqualified it as a minority institution. The court had also emphasized AMU being a central university, not an institution “established or administered” by the Muslim community, making it ineligible for minority educational institution status.
However, the current decision, delivered by a 4:3 majority, has overturned this earlier ruling.
The 1967 decision triggered a series of developments. In 1981, the Central Government amended the AMU Act, declaring the university to be established by the Muslims of India for promoting the educational and cultural advancement of Muslims, effectively granting it minority status.
Further controversies arose in 2005 when AMU implemented a 50% reservation for Muslim students in medical postgraduate courses. The Allahabad High Court in 2006 struck down this policy, arguing that AMU, according to the 1967 Supreme Court ruling, wasn’t a minority institution and therefore didn’t qualify for reservation.
In 2016, the NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi withdrew its appeal against AMU’s minority status in the Supreme Court. The government argued that AMU was not a minority institution, citing the 1967 ruling, and that the university had relinquished its religious character upon becoming a central university in 1920.
The issue was finally referred to a larger seven-judge bench in 2019 by a three-judge bench headed by then Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi to address the legal questions surrounding AMU’s minority status.
The 2024 Supreme Court verdict, while overturning the 1967 ruling, has left the future of AMU’s minority status uncertain. The matter will now be decided by a separate bench, potentially leading to further legal battles.
First Piper 