Aligarh Muslim University Case : Live Updates From Supreme Court Hearing [Day 3]

Khurshid: 2 things have happened, when AMU act was passed in 1920 it was not assumed that there would be difference in the kinds of universities which has now become public and private universities.....your lordships asked what other universities like AMU where there, Jamia was the second one, Jamia was an off shoot of AMU , jamia was part of the independence movement

J Khanna: Khurshid we are not dealing with Jamia's case because that's a separate matter. So if you want to got into that you maybe expanding the scope of reference

CJI : apart from Jamia are there any other examples?

Khurshid : my lord the other examples as produced by the other side are all private institutions. there is Mahabir Jain University, there is the Christ University...

Khurshid: Aligarh has a unique culture to expound, imagine, interact etc, when the university is established, it was established in the efforts of the community and therefore I distinguish in the first principle two kinds of establishments, two kinds of statutory acts that maybe propounded by the govt. one is a non-consensual act wherein an institution has fallen on bad times and the govt steps in order to save the institution to take over there is also a consensual takeover which is exactly what AMU was about.

Sibal concludes his arguments. Sr Adv Salman Khurshid begins his arguments

Khurshid explains the history of Sir Syed in envisioning the AMU - to deal with the issue of education in Muslim backward classes 

Sibal refers to S.4 (v) of 1920 Act on the transfer of buildings of MAO to AMU

Sibal : all employees of MAO transferred to AMU this shows continuity (referring to s.5) and all students were permitted to continue their education (S.32 of 1920 Act) so this is how continuity, genesis, and foundation are established and Basha acknowledges all this but it says it doesn't matter because there is an Act, it matters because it is the only institution of its kind to set up with the intent to serve the interest of secular India and to protect the minority institutions to empower them to be in workforce of India, if you reject this you destroy that dream, that dream should not be destroyed 

Sibal: the last thing now, what is it that we brought in and what was transferred to AMU - 1. 30 lacs raised by the Muslim University Association worth 300 crores today, this is reflected in the s. 7 of 1920 Act - so founded - all land, infrastructure, movable-immovable properties stood transferred to AMU ....

Sibal refers to Basha :

22. There was nothing in 1920 to prevent the Muslim minority, if it so chose, to establish a university; but if it did so the degrees of such a university were not bound to be recognised by Government. It may be that in the absence of recognition of the degrees granted by a university, it may not have attracted many students, and that is why we find that before the Constitution came into force, most of the universities in India were established by legislation.... 

Sibal takes the bench through the correct and incorrect findings of Basha v. UOI

Sibal referring to Basha : it accepts that AMU is based on MAO College but says it makes no difference

Sibal reads UGC Act S.2

(f) “University” means a University established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, a Provincial Act or a State Act,

Sibal - the word establish in 30 is with reference to the setting up of the institution  

The Court resumes

Sibal : the word establish used in 30 is in constitutional sense, the word establish in the statute is used in the statutory sense