Aligarh: A seven-judge constitutional bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday started hearing a plea regarding the minority status of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
The hearing continued till 4 pm today. Azam Mir, Secretary of AMU Old Boys Association, said that the hearing will be held on Wednesday and Thursday and may even extend further.
Presided by CJI DY Chandrachud, the bench comprise Justices Manoj Mishra, JB Partiwala, Surya Kant, Dipankar Dutta, SC Sharma and Sanjeev Khanna. Hearings will be held on whether an educational institute set up by a parliamentary statute can enjoy minority status under Article 30 of the Constitution. The bench would decide on whether AMU can retain its minority status.
Advocate Rajin Dhawan presented AMU's side today. It was learnt that Rajya Sabha members Kapil Sibal and Salman Khurshid will represent AMU in the next two days.
In 2004, the Manmohan Singh government had stated that AMU is a minority institution and can make changes in its admission process. However, this was challenged in the Allahabad High Court following which, the court had set aside AMU's minority status. In 2006, The UPA-led central government and AMU challenged the high court's decision before the apex court.
A minority institution enjoys many advantages including the freedom to follow its own admission policy. Former media advisor of AMU, Professor Jasim Mohammad said that the justification for minority status has ended because now admission is being done on the basis of Common Entrance Test. He said that minority status means that minorities are given preference in admission but now this is no longer an issue.
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