A view of Aligarh Muslim University campus. File | Photo Credit: Sandeep Saxena
Senior Samajwadi Party leader and Rajya Sabha member Ramjilal Suman on Tuesday (October 22, 2024) moved a Private Member’s Bill to restore the minority character of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). This matter has been in the teeth of the courts for a long time. In February 2024, the seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court gave its verdict after eight days of trial.
In a letter addressed to the Rajya Sabha Secretary, Mr. Suman wrote that he intends to introduce the AMU (Restoration of Minority Character) Bill 2024 in the next session of the House.
With the tenure of the Chief Justice of India now over, the timing of the bill, when Parliament is not in session, has taken on significance.
Talk to The HinduThe former Union Minister said he did not see it as a preemptive step before the verdict. “The bill will send the right message to the public,” he said, “because the Modi government is against the minority character of AMU.” On whether he had supported the party leadership before moving the bill, the Dalit leader said the bill was “in line with the party’s commitment”.
While party sources are silent on the direction Mr. Suman is taking at a time when the political atmosphere is heavy with the upcoming general elections in nine seats, a senior leader from Western UP indicated that the veteran Dalit leader’s move will deliver the fit. retaliating the right-wing ecosystem which claims to have stood up for the interests of the Scheduled Castes in this case because the concept of reservation does not apply to minority institutions.
The university reserved 50% of the seats in postgraduate medical courses for Muslim students in 2005. This was challenged in the Allahabad High Court in Dr. Naresh Agarwal v Union of India (2005), which struck down the privacy reservation. This led AMU and the Union government to appeal the decision in the Supreme Court in 2006. In 2014, the NDA Government withdrew from the appeal in 2016, against the decision. AMU and other university-affiliated associations continue the challenge.
In 2019, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court referred the case for reconsideration by a seven-judge bench. On October 12, 2023, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dr. DY Chandrachud constituted a bench of seven judges to hear the matter.
On February 1, 2024, the Supreme Court gave its verdict in the Aligarh Muslim University Minority status case after eight days of hearing. A seven-judge constitutional bench considered whether AMU qualifies as a minority institution under Article 30.
The statement of objects and reasons for the bill in the draft said “Until the Government passed the Aligarh Muslim University Act, 1920, with the Amendment Act of 1965, no one ever doubted that the Aligarh Muslim University was established by Muslims. primarily for the benefit of Muslims. Despite promises to the contrary, the Government succeeded in destroying all the important features of the University, its minority character, and its democratic functions. In accordance with the election promises of various national parties, the Congress Government restored the minority character of AMU, IN 1981 -amendment act.
However, the erroneous assumption that the judgment of the Supreme Court in S. Azeez Basha and Others vs Union of India, reported in 1968 (1) SCR 833, presents a constitutional hurdle, this assumption cannot be removed. The judgment is inconsistent with other Supreme Court judgments and ignores important facts which would inevitably lead to a conflicting conclusion.
Based on Article 30 of the Constitution which provides the right of minorities to establish and manage educational institutions, the draft bill said it seeks to ensure that AMU is established by Indian Muslims, especially in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Azeez Basha Vs. . Union (1968) 1 SCR on that point.
It further stated that the bill was meant to meet the demands of the Muslim community in India, which was fueled by strong emotions common among members of the community.
Published – 23 October 2024 03:10 IST
