Superme court reserves verdict on minority status of AMU minority status

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on the minority status of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), after eight days of heated debate.

A seven-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud heard the arguments put forth by the rival sides over eight days.

The bench also comprises justices Sanjiv Khanna, Surya Kant, J B Pardiwala, Dipankar Datta, Manoj Misra and Satish Chandra Sharma.
On February 12, 2019, the top court referred the highly contentious issue to a seven-judge bench for adjudication.

The top court had on February 12, 2019 referred to a seven-judge bench the contentious issue. A similar reference was also made in 1981.

A similar reference was made earlier in the S Azeez Basha versus Union of India case in 1967, where a five-judge constitution bench held that since AMU was a central university, it could not be considered a minority institution. However, it regained its minority status when Parliament passed the AMU (Amendment) Act in 1981.

The Congress-led UPA government appealed against the 2006 high court order, while the NDA government led by the BJP informed the apex court in 2016 that it would withdraw the appeal filed by the erstwhile UPA dispensation.