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Following Supreme Court's decision to overrule the S Azeez Basha versus Union of India case which in 1967 held that since the Aligarh Muslim University was a Central university, it cannot be considered a minority institution, Vice Chancellor Naima Khatoon said that she will discuss the judgement with the legal experts for the next course of action.
Speaking to media persons, Vice Chancellor of AMU, Naima Khatoon said, "We honour the judgement. We will discuss with our legal experts for the next course of action." The apex court by 4:3 majority verdict said the issue of AMU minority status to be decided by a regular three-judge bench. The bench said that in order to determine whether an institution is a minority institution, what needs to be looked at is who established the institution. Following the verdict, Aligarh Muslim University staff welcomed the decision and stressed to act on the further course of action. AMU, Professor Mohd. Aasim Siddiqui, Member Incharge, PRO Department, AMU said, "We welcome and accept this judgement." "AMU honours the decision of the SC... For now, we are dedicated to maintaining academic actions, nation-building, and inclusivity," Omar Saleem Peerzada (PRO-AMU) said. Reacting to the Supreme Court Verdict Professor Aftab Ahmad stated, "SC majority judgement has not said anything about the minority status. So it will remain as a minority institution. We will read the judgement and decide the next course of action." Notably, the CJI wrote the majority opinion for himself and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, JD Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma gave dissent verdict. The apex court verdict came on a reference arising out of the 2006 verdict of the Allahabad High Court which held that AMU was not a minority institution. Member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali said that the Supre Court's decision will go a long way in deciding the minority status of AMU "We welcome the decision of the Supreme Court in which it has overruled its decision of 1967 in which it was decided the AMU will not be a minority institution. I think SC's decision will go a long way in deciding the minority status of AMU. I think all the historical facts are before us and we will certain those before the 3-judges bench.....The biggest question is if Aligarh Muslim University is not considered to be a minority institution, then which institution will be considered as a minority institution and what will happen to Article 30A?" Firangi Mahali said. A five-judge Constitution bench had in the S Azeez Basha versus Union of India case in 1967 held that since AMU was a Central university, it cannot be considered a minority institution. The university got back its minority status when Parliament passed the AMU (Amendment) Act in 1981. However, in January 2006, the Allahabad High Court struck down the provision of the 1981 law by which the university was accorded minority status. Later, the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre approached the top court in an appeal against the Allahabad High Court order. The university also filed a separate petition against it. The NDA government led by the BJP in 2016 told the apex court that it would withdraw the appeal filed by the erstwhile UPA government. (ANI)
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