The comment was made during the third day of hearing in a batch of petitions concerning the minority status of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
The questions of law involved in the case concerns the parameters for granting an educational institution minority status under Article 30, and whether a centrally-funded university established by parliamentary statute can be designated a minority institution.
The matter was referred to a seven-judge in February 2019 by a bench led by then CJI Ranjan Gogoi.
AMU was held to be a Central University by the Supreme Court in the 1968 case of S Azeez Basha vs Union of India. In the said case, the Court also held that a minority status under Articles 29 and 30 of the Indian Constitution cannot be conferred on a Central University.
However, the minority status of the institute was later reinstated by bringing in an amendment to the AMU Act in 1981.
This was challenged before the Allahabad High Court which in 2006 set aside the move as being unconstitutional, leading to the instant appeals by AMU before the Supreme Court.
Notably, in 2016, the Central government withdrew its appeal in the matter.
Source: Barandbench
