UPA's AMU stand was not in public interest, SC told

The Union government's decision in 2016 to withdraw its support for minority status to the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) was based on "constitutional considerations alone" because the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's stand to legally fight for it was "against public interest" and contrary to the public policy of reservation for marginalised sections, the Centre has submitted before a seven-judge Constitution bench.

Stressing that the change of government at the Centre was inconsequential to the reversal of the stance, the NDA government maintained that the Union government should have never filed a separate appeal in the top court against the 2006 judgment of the Allahabad High Court, which held that AMU is not and has never been a minority institution.

The previous government's stand was in the teeth of a five-judge bench ruling in the Azeez Basha case in 1967, the Centre added. The Supreme Court ruled against minority status of AMU in the Basha case, noting that the university was neither established nor administered by a Muslim minority, and held that it cannot enjoy protection for minorities to administer educational institutions under Article 30(1) of the Constitution.

"The stand taken to file an SLP (special leave petition against the 2006 high court ruling) was also against the public policy of reservation meant for SCs/STS/OBCs/ EWSS as applicable to central universities, and therefore, was against public interest. It is, therefore, submitted that the prayer for withdrawal of appeal has been made after due consideration of the legal position," the Centre submitted before the bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, through Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta.

AMU is an institution of "national character" that ought to maintain its secular origins and serve the larger interest of the nation first, the government told the bench, which also comprised justices Sanjiv Khanna, Surya Kant, JB Pardiwala, Dipankar Datta, Manoj Misra and Satish Chandra Sharma.