Supreme Court, in 4-3 verdict, overturns 1967 ruling denying minority status to AMU

A seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court, by a 4-3 majority today overruled the 1967 judgment in S. Azeez Basha vs. Union Of India case that became the basis for denying the minority status to the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). The 1967 judgment in the case had held that an institution incorporated by a statute cannot claim to be a minority institution. The Apex court today said 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 of the Constitution. For this factual determination, the Constitution Bench relegated the matter to a regular bench.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, who headed the bench, said there were four separate opinions, including three dissenting verdicts. The CJI said he has written the majority verdict for himself and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, JB Pardiwala, Manoj Misra. Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma had penned their separate dissenting verdicts.