The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) fraternity on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court's ruling on the institute's minority status, saying it reaffirms the foundation principles on which the varsity was established.

Prof Faizan Mustafa, a constitutional law expert and former registrar of AMU who had filed this case in the Supreme Court in his ex-officio position, told PTI, "It is a comprehensive win for minority rights in general and AMU in particular."

Reacting to the Supreme Court's verdict, former Vice-Chancellor of AMU, Lt Gen (Retd) Zameeruddin Shah told PTI, "By overturning the earlier judgement in the Azeez Basha case, the Supreme Court has responded to the aspirations and hopes of a large segment of India's population."

He also asserted, "This judgement should serve as a lesson for us and should also ensure that the AMU should not just remain a beacon light for us but should also pave the path for lighting many more beacons of hope for the entire country."

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court deferred the question of AMU's minority status to a new bench and overruled the 1967 judgement that said the university cannot be considered a minority institution since it was created by a central law.

Rahat Abrar, historian and former director of AMU's Urdu Academy who played a prominent role in providing vital historical documents to legal experts in the case, said the judgement has validated the claims of the AMU community which had always maintained that the case should be decided based on historical evidence on the identity of those organizations and individuals who had envisaged the idea behind this institution and worked for its establishment.

Secretary of the AMU Teachers Association (AMUTA) Mohammad Obaid Siddiqui said the judgement reaffirms the idea behind the establishment of the institution for fulfilling educational aspirations, while also maintaining its commitment to an inclusive environment serving all sections of society.

In a majority verdict headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud, the bench laid down tests for considering the issue of AMU's minority status.

The 4:3 majority judgment authored by CJI Chandrachud, also on behalf of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said, "The view taken in Azeez Basha (1967 verdict) that an educational institution is not established by minority if it derives its legal character through a statute, is overruled." A five-judge Constitution bench in the S Azeez Basha v. Union of India in 1967 said AMU was a central university and couldn't be considered a minority institution.

"The question of whether AMU is a minority educational institution must be decided based on the principles laid down in this judgement," the CJI said.

Prof Aftab Alam, chairman in the Department of Strategic and Security Studies at AMU and a noted scholar in the field of international human rights law, told PTI, "It is a historic judgment, which has overruled the earlier 1967's judgment which had denied minority status to AMU."

Alam, who played an important role in coordinating with different counsels involved in the case, said that the judgement has finally "removed all confusion" on this matter, which had been sparked off by the earlier judgement of the court in 1967.

Welcoming the verdict of the Supreme Court, Rajya Sabha member (Samajwadi Party) and former Union minister Ramjilal Suman said, "This decision is still incomplete and hence, I will make every effort to pursue the private member bill, which I had introduced in the Parliament last month for the complete restoration of the minority status of the AMU." Suman has submitted a private member bill for the restoration of AMU's minority status.

The status was restored by an Act passed by Parliament in December 1981, but the Allahabad High Court struck it down in 2005 through a judgement.

Murad Ahmad Khan, an elected member representing AMU teachers at the AMU's Executive Council, said, "While strongly welcoming the Supreme Court's judgement to reaffirm the institution's minority character, it is also a reminder to the AMU community to continue lighting the path of 'inclusivity, cultural diversity and academic excellence'."

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