Supreme Court Overrules 1967 Judgement Denying Minority Status To Aligarh Muslim University; Appropriate Bench To Decide Fate Of AMU

A seven-judge bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, in a 4:3 majority verdict on Friday, overruled its 1968 judgment that denied minority status to Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on the grounds that it was regulated by statute.

"The view in Azeez Basha that minority character ceases when a statute comes into force is overruled. Whether AMU holds minority status or not will be decided as per this (today's) judgment," the Court held.

The apex court stated that the minority status of an educational institution will not cease merely because Parliament enacts a law to regulate or govern such an institution, or because the institution is administered by non-minority members.

The bench delivered four separate judgments, including three dissenting opinions in the AMU minority status case.

While pronouncing the verdict, CJI Chandrachud stated that he wrote the majority opinion for himself and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra. Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and SC Sharma gave dissenting opinions.

The issue of AMU's minority status will now be determined by a regular bench for a factual finding on whether it was "established" by a minority.