Chief Justice Chandrachud to Deliver Final Verdict on AMU’s Minority Status
Image Source: Indian Legal
The Aligarh Muslim University ruling will conclude Chief Justice DY Chandrachud’s tenure, with Justice Sanjiv Khanna set to take over the role.
On Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud’s final working day, the bench he leads is scheduled to deliver its verdict on Friday regarding a complex legal issue: whether Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) qualifies for minority status under Article 30 of the Constitution. This article grants religious and linguistic minorities the right to establish and manage educational institutions. Headed by Chief Justice Chandrachud, a seven-judge constitution bench—comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna (the incoming CJI), Surya Kant, JB Pardiwala, Dipankar Datta, Manoj Misra, and Satish Chandra Sharma—reserved its decision on this matter on February 1, following eight days of hearings.
The verdict will not only conclude Justice Chandrachud’s tenure but also mark Justice Sanjiv Khanna’s transition into the role of CJI. If AMU, established in 1920, is found not to hold minority status, it will need to implement reservation policies similar to those of other public universities for students and faculty. However, retaining minority status would allow it to reserve up to 50 percent of seats for Muslim students, as noted by The Indian Express.
Currently, AMU has its own system for reserving 50 percent of seats for students from its affiliated institutions, bypassing state reservation policies. From January 10 to February 1, the bench heard arguments addressing AMU’s minority status. In 1967, the Supreme Court ruled in S. Azeez Basha vs. Union of India that AMU was not a minority institution, interpreting the Aligarh Muslim University Act of 1920 as indicating that the university was neither established nor managed by the Muslim community, a requirement under Article 30(1) for minority status.
An amendment to the AMU Act in 1981 asserted that the university was “established by the Muslims of India,” and, in 2005, AMU implemented a 50 percent reservation for Muslim students in postgraduate medical programs based on this status. However, the Allahabad High Court struck down both this reservation and the amendment, ruling that AMU lacked minority status. The Supreme Court took up the case in 2019, referring it to a seven-judge bench for reconsideration of the 1967 ruling.
Although the central government withdrew from an appeal in 2016, it now maintains that AMU never held minority status, arguing that the university, founded under imperial law in 1920, relinquished any religious status and has not been governed by the Muslim minority since.
Team Profile
- Freelance Journalist
- Aryan Gulati is a dedicated media student based in Meerut with a wealth of experience in various newspapers and media houses. He has numerous published articles and specializes in political and crime news writing, demonstrating a strong commitment to impactful journalism.
Latest entries
News23 February 2025Cyrus Broacha Defends Samay Raina and Ranveer Allahbadia in India’s Got Latent Controversy
News23 February 2025Meerut’s 150-Year-Old Mosque Being Demolished for Delhi-Meerut RRTS Project
News22 February 2025Punjab Minister Kuldeep Dhaliwal Managed a Non-Existent Department for 20 Months; BJP Responds
News22 February 2025Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma Receives Death Threat; Call Linked to Dausa Jail
