Breaking: A panel of seven judges from the Supreme Court has overturned the ‘Azeez Pasha’ ruling, which stated that AMU is not entitled to minority status.

The Supreme Court delivered its judgment today on several petitions requesting ‘minority status’ for Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). The decision was made by a Bench consisting of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice J.B. Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra, who formed the majority opinion. In contrast, Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and Satish Chandra Sharma expressed dissent. The majority (4:3) overturned a 1967 ruling that stated AMU could not claim minority status since it was established by a statute. The Chief Justice noted, “There are four opinions; I have written the majority opinion along with Justices Khanna, Pardiwala, and Misra. The three dissenting opinions are from Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Dutta, and Satish Chandra Sharma. So, it is 4:3.”

The Chief Justice pointed out that the right given by Article 30 of the Indian Constitution is not absolute, and the regulation of minority institutions is allowed under Article 19(6). He stated, “Article 30(1) does not apply when a minority community sets up an institution but does not intend to manage it… simply labeling an institution as minority because it was founded by someone from a minority community is not sufficient. Article 30 will only apply to institutions established after the Constitution was enacted. Therefore, educational institutions set up by minorities before the Constitution came into effect will also be subject to Article 30.”

The Supreme Court delivered its judgment today on several petitions requesting ‘minority status’ for Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). The decision was made by a Bench consisting of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice J.B. Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra, who formed the majority opinion. In contrast, Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and Satish Chandra Sharma expressed dissent. The majority (4:3) overturned a 1967 ruling that stated AMU could not claim minority status since it was established by a statute. The Chief Justice noted, “There are four opinions; I have written the majority opinion along with Justices Khanna, Pardiwala, and Misra. The three dissenting opinions are from Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Dutta, and Satish Chandra Sharma. So, it is 4:3.”

The Chief Justice pointed out that the right given by Article 30 of the Indian Constitution is not absolute, and the regulation of minority institutions is allowed under Article 19(6). He stated, “Article 30(1) does not apply when a minority community sets up an institution but does not intend to manage it… simply labeling an institution as minority because it was founded by someone from a minority community is not sufficient. Article 30 will only apply to institutions established after the Constitution was enacted. Therefore, educational institutions set up by minorities before the Constitution came into effect will also be subject to Article 30.”