MC Explains: Why is Centre claiming that Aligarh Muslim University is not a minority institution?

SC is currently hearing case on status of AMU

In his written arguments filed at the Supreme Court in the ongoing case pertaining to the minority status of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta has said that the university is not a minority institution.

The case is currently being heard by a seven-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud.

According to SG’s submission, AMU is an institution of a national character. “Aligarh Muslim University, unlike its name suggests, is not, in fact, a university dominantly functioning as a Muslim university as it is not established and administered by the minority,” it said. The government arguments are restricted to just the minority status of AMU and not of any other institution.

However, contrary to this, AMU has argued in the apex court that the government cannot compel an institution to give up its minority status. According to the university, even though it has students from all communities, it retains its ‘Muslim’ character.

The debate on AMU’s minority status has been ongoing since the 1960s, and this is the second time the issue has reached the Supreme Court. In fact, in 1967 a five-judge bench of the SC ruled that the AMU was not a minority institution as there was a central legislation governing the same.Moneycontrol explains how the dispute reached the apex court for the second time and why the Centre claims that AMU is not a minority institution.

AMU’s minority status

AMU was established in 1875 as the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. In 1920, the British government in India passed the AMU Act, a central legislation which enabled MAO and a few other colleges to be affiliated with it.

The central government passed two amendments to the law in 1951 and 1965. The amendment changed the structure of the governing body of the university and gave powers to the president of India to nominate its members. These amendments were challenged in the Supreme Court by an individual named Azeez Basha.

In 1967, a five-judge bench of the apex court upheld the amendment and ruled that the AMU was not a minority institution as there was a central legislation governing the same. In 1981, the government brought in a law that restored the minority status of the university, thereby permitting it to make reservations for the Muslim community in India. However, in 2005, the minority status of the institution was challenged in the Allahabad High Court, after it reserved 50 percent of post-graduate seats to Muslim minorities. The Allahabad HC ruled against its minority status and the case ultimately reached the SC. In 2019, the issue was referred to a seven-judge bench, noting that a five-judge bench had already ruled on it in 1967.

Central government’s contention

According to the government, AMU is given a special status by including the same in the Constitution of India, wherein it was deemed to be an “institution of national importance”. The Constitution did not treat it either as a minority institution or otherwise, the government claimed.

The written submissions stated that the Constitution of India came into force in 1950, hence to bring the AMU Act, 1920 in conformity with the Constitutional provisions, certain provisions of the Act were amended. The amendment had the effect of making the Act non-minority in character. The amendment deleted the provisions in the pre-Constitutional era which provided that one of the bodies of the University namely the “Court” of the University will consist of only Muslims.

According to the government, AMU is an institution of national character and importance established before Independence and it is ranked 9th across universities and autonomous institutions in India by the Ministry of Education’s National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2023. Hence, if it is declared as a minority institution it will not be required to implement the reservation policy of the government.

“The resultant effect would be drastic as AMU is an extremely old and large institute with vast properties and an enormous amount of students studying in various courses. Large national institute like Aligarh Muslim University ought to maintain its secular origins and serve the larger interest of the nation first,” the government’s submission said.

According to the government, it is a historical fact that the AMU was established by the efforts of a large number of people including the State which had no religion. The Act of the Indian Legislative Council in the 1920s did not provide for a predominant minority character to the University.