AMU Institution Of National Importance, Minority Status Will Exclude SC/ST/OBC Reservations : Centre Tells Supreme Court

In the case relating to the minority status of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), the Union Government submitted before the Supreme Court on Tuesday (January 30) that an institution of national importance must reflect that national structure.

Stressing that AMU is an institution of national importance, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta requested the Court to analyse the issue from the angle of social justice, so that students belonging to SC/ST/SEBC sections can also gain access to it. The SG underscored that about 70-80% of the students in AMU are Muslims at present.

"AMU is one of the finest Universities in the country, I have no dispute about it. It is also an institution of national importance...", SG submitted before a 7-judge bench led by the Chief Justice of India.  

He pointed out that Article 15(5) of the Constitution, which introduced SC/ST/SEBC reservation in higher educational institutions, does not apply to minority institutions. Therefore, the Court should apply a stricter test to hold an institution to be a minority institution, as its impact would be the exclusion of SC/ST/SEBC reservation, which the Supreme Court has declared to be a facet of equality, argued the SG.

"Therefore, the Aligarh Muslim University, having these many faculties - law, medicine and others- and one of the finest universities recognized as an institute of national importance would not have reservations for SC, ST and SEBC and they would have at least 50% reservation for Muslims. So a deserving candidate of a Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or a Socially and Educationally Backward Class would not have the reservation but a person having all economic everything under his command, based on his religion, would have reservation in AMU", the SG submitted.

Urging the Court to analyse the issue from the angle of social justice, the SG said that the petition in the Allahabad High Court against the minority status of AMU was filed in the wake of the 2005 Constitution Amendment, which introduced Article 15(5) to provide SC/ST/SEBC reservations in higher educational institutions. Since minority institutions were exempted from Article 15(5), the petitioners sought to declare that AMU was a non-minority institution.

"Even without reservation approximately 70-80% of students (in AMU) are Muslims. I am not on religion. It's a very, very serious phenomenon. An institution of national importance declared by the Constitution must reflect the national structure. Without reservation, this is the position," he said.

At this juncture, Justice Sanjiv Khanna asked the SG if all institutions of national importance reflect the national structure. "Yes, they have students from all walks of life," SG replied. When Justice Khanna asked if there is any data available on that, the SG said that he can place on record the data from institutions like IITs, IIMs etc.

Earlier in the day, the SG elaborated the argument made during the previous day that there was no concept of 'minority' in 1920, when the AMU was established and that being a University established under the imperial legislation, it cannot claim minority status.

During the second half of the day, Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi made submissions [separate story on that here]. Live updates from today's hearing can be read here.

The bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Surya Kant, JB Pardiwala, Dipankar Datta, Manoj Misra and SC Sharma is hearing a reference arising out of the 2006 verdict of the Allahabad High Court which held that AMU was not a minority institution. In 2019, a 3-judge bench of the Supreme Court referred the issue to a 7-judge bench. One of the issues which arise in the case is whether a University, established and governed by a statute (AMU Act 1920), can claim minority status. The correctness of the 1967 judgment of the Supreme Court in S. Azeez Basha vs. Union Of India (5-judge bench) which rejected the minority status of AMU and the 1981 amendment to the AMU Act, which accorded minority status to the University, also arose in the reference.

Case Details : ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY THROUGH ITS REGISTRAR FAIZAN MUSTAFA vs. NARESH AGARWAL C.A. No. 002286 / 2006 and connected matters