New Delhi:After eight days of marathon hearing, a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court reserved its judgment on a batch of petitions seeking minority status for the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
A Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Surya Kant, JB Pardiwala, Dipankar Datta, Manoj Misra and Satish Chandra Sharma, concluded hearing on the rejoinder submissions in the matter on Thursday.
Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, representing AMU, made submissions regarding the Muslim representation on the management of AMU including in its academic council.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing AMU Old Boys Association, submitted that it is not relevant to consider how many Muslims are on AMU's executive and academic bodies while deciding the minority status of the institution. Sibal vehemently argued that the secular structure of the country cannot be discarded by challenging the minority status of AMU.
He pressed, "What kind of tests are we applying, never before in history….. numerical strength can never be an issue" and it would be wrong to hold that Muslims or Christians have to run an institute for it to be deemed a minority institute. "Should we apply a test that will destroy the entire minority educational structure in this country? That is why I said I have a right, not a duty to administer," said Sibal.
During the hearing, the bench observed that the 1981 amendment to the AMU Act (which restored its minority status after the Azeez Basha judgment) did not restore the position prevailing before the 1951 Amendment Act (upheld in the Azeez Basha case).