Aligarh Muslim University minority status: Supreme Court, in a 4-3 majority decision, has overturned a 1967 ruling that formed the basis for denying minority status to Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). The current judgment, delivered by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra, leaves it to a smaller three-judge bench to decide anew on AMUs minority status, using the principles established in this ruling.Majority opinion questions 1981 amendmentThe majority opinion questioned the 1981 amendment to the AMU Act, which attempted to affirm AMUs minority status but was deemed insufficient in restoring the universitys status as it existed prior to a 1951 change. The issue, which has long engaged both legislative and judicial bodies, reflects a complex legal history for AMU, an institution originally established in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College, later becoming a university in 1920 under the British rule.Does AMU identify as minority institutionThe contentious point centers around whether AMU qualifies as a minority institution, a status protected under Article 30 of the Indian Constitution, despite its funding and regulation by the central government. A prior verdict from 1967 in the S Azeez Basha vs. Union of India case held that AMU, as a central university, did not qualify for minority status—a stance the BJP-led NDA government reaffirmed in recent years.Cong earlier appealed against the Allahbad HCs rulingThe Congress-led UPA government had previously appealed against the Allahabad High Courts 2006 ruling, which invalidated the 1981 amendment granting AMU minority status. However, in 2016, the NDA government announced its intention to withdraw the appeal, reiterating the 1967 verdict as grounds for AMUs non-minority classification.The AMUs minority status debate, with appeals dating back decades, now awaits further examination by the designated three-judge bench.
