The Supreme Court of India, by a 4-3 majority, delivered Friday a landmark judgment laying down the test to determine the scope of minority educational institutions under the equality provision of the country’s constitution.
First, the court clarified that Article 30(1) of the Indian Constitution serves a dual purpose — an anti-discrimination safeguard and a special rights provision. As an anti-discrimination measure, it bars any law or executive action from discriminating against religious or linguistic minorities in establishing and running educational institutions. As a special rights provision, it grants these minority institutions greater administrative autonomy, thereby ensuring their right to self-governance in academic matters.
To claim Article 30(1) protection, the court held that religious or linguistic minorities must demonstrate that they established the institution specifically to serve their community. This criterion ensures that only institutions genuinely intended to advance minority interests receive such classification. Moreover, the court extended Article 30(1) rights to universities established before the Constitution’s commencement, safeguarding institutions with historical minority status against retroactive discrimination. However, it specified that “minorities” are defined as per the Constitution’s inception, precluding any new group from claiming minority status for pre-Constitution institutions.
Additionally, the court stated that converting a college into a university does not automatically remove its minority character, overruling its earlier decision in S. Azeez Basha v. Union of India that a statutory establishment of an institution negates its minority status. Instead, the court set specific criteria to determine whether the minority identity or founding mission was compromised during the transition. It emphasized that the institution’s founding purpose, primary intent to serve the minority community, and administrative structure must all align to affirm its minority status.
The case concerned Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), an institution established by Muslims who alleged to be a religious minority for the purpose of Article 30(1). AMU argued that the prohibition on imposing tests of religious belief for admission and the reduction of Muslim representation in the university’s administrative structure violated their Article 30(1) right. The court remitted the issue to the regular bench for deciding the dispute based on the principles clarified by the court.
Articles 29 and 30 of the Indian Constitution protect the cultural and educational rights of minorities. Article 29 ensures that citizens with distinct languages, scripts, or cultures have the right to preserve these and prohibits denial of admission to state-funded educational institutions based on religion, race, caste, or language. Article 30 grants religious and linguistic minorities the right to establish and manage their educational institutions without discrimination from the State when receiving aid. If the State acquires property from a minority institution, it must provide fair compensation that respects the institution’s rights.
