New Delhi: A seven-judge constitution bench on Friday (November 8) in 4:3 majority verdict overruled its 1967 verdict in S Azeez Basha holding that the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) cannot claim the minority status as it was created by a statute and said that the issue whether the AMU was established by a minority will be decided by a regular bench.
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, reading out the judgment on behalf of four judges, held that to be a minority institution it only had to be established by the minority and not necessarily be administered by the minority members and minority institutions may wish to emphasise secular education and for that minority members are not needed in administration.
The majority verdict said that the minority status of the AMU must be decided on basis of tests laid down by it.
