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Facts: The case challenged the minority status of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) under Article 30 of the Constitution of India which grants religious and linguistic minorities the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. The Supreme Court reconsidered its earlier ruling in Azeez Basha v. Union of India (1967), where a five-judge bench had held that AMU is not a minority institution because it was established through a parliamentary law—the AMU Act, 1920—rather than by the Muslim community itself. In 2005, AMU decided to reserve 50% of seats in its postgraduate medical courses for Muslim candidates, which led to legal challenges. The case eventually reached the Supreme Court, prompting a seven-judge Constitution Bench to revisit the issue.
Issue:
- Can AMU claim minority status under Article 30 despite being established by a Parliamentary Act?
- Does the fact that AMU was incorporated through legislation prevent it from being recognized as a minority institution?
- What are the criteria for determining the minority status of an educational institution?
Decision (4:3 Majority): Hon’ble Supreme Court overruled the 1967 Azeez Basha decision and held that institutions that are incorporated through legal instruments (such as an Act of Parliament) can still have minority status, provided they were founded by members of a minority community. Hon’ble Court laid down specific parameters for determining whether an educational institution qualifies as a minority institution under Article 30. This ruling establishes a new legal framework for assessing the autonomy and rights of minority institutions in India. Hon’ble Court left it to a smaller bench to apply these parameters and decide whether AMU qualifies as a minority institution. The judgment will have broader implications for institutions seeking minority status, particularly concerning their right to admit students from a specific community and administer their affairs independently.
