NEW DELHI: Union government has provided Rs 5,467 crore during 2019-23 to meet almost the entire expenses of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), senior advocate Guru Krishna Kumar told the Supreme Court Wednesday and asked whether it has received such large funds from the Centre had it been a minority-aided institution.
Appearing for one of the original petitioners before the Allahabad HC which had in 2006 quashed AMU’s decision to provide 50% reservation to Muslims in PG medical courses, Kumar told a bench of CJI D Y Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Surya Kant, J B Pardiwala, Dipankar Datta, Manoj Misra and Satish C Sharma that the grant to Delhi University during the same period wasRs 2,709 crore or less than 50% of the allocation to AMU.He said as AMU has been consistently described, both by framers of the Constitution and subsequent governments, as an institution of excellence and national importance, it belonged to every citizen of India and cannot be denominationally categorised.
He said the other institutions of national importance received must less grants compared to AMU during 2019-23: Jamia Millia Islamia – Rs 1,805 crore; Maulana Azad National Urdu University – Rs 672 crore and University of Hyderabad – Rs 1,361 crore.
Appearing for another original petitioner before HC, senior advocate Neeraj K Kaul said the historical fact that AMU was established by the British through a statute, the giving up of minority status by the patrons of the movement lobbying for the university, and the consistent stand of successive governments that it is not a minority institution under Article 30 of the Constitution couldn’t have been obliterated by Parliament in 1981 through an amendment to AMU Act, 1920.
In rejoinder, senior advocate Rajeev Dhawan said it is a historical fact Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College was established and managed by Muslims and it formed the nucleus of AMU. Its assets and liabilities were made part of AMU, he said, arguing that this indicates AMU was a continuation of MAO and hence must get minority status.
Appearing for one of the original petitioners before the Allahabad HC which had in 2006 quashed AMU’s decision to provide 50% reservation to Muslims in PG medical courses, Kumar told a bench of CJI D Y Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Surya Kant, J B Pardiwala, Dipankar Datta, Manoj Misra and Satish C Sharma that the grant to Delhi University during the same period wasRs 2,709 crore or less than 50% of the allocation to AMU.He said as AMU has been consistently described, both by framers of the Constitution and subsequent governments, as an institution of excellence and national importance, it belonged to every citizen of India and cannot be denominationally categorised.
He said the other institutions of national importance received must less grants compared to AMU during 2019-23: Jamia Millia Islamia – Rs 1,805 crore; Maulana Azad National Urdu University – Rs 672 crore and University of Hyderabad – Rs 1,361 crore.
Appearing for another original petitioner before HC, senior advocate Neeraj K Kaul said the historical fact that AMU was established by the British through a statute, the giving up of minority status by the patrons of the movement lobbying for the university, and the consistent stand of successive governments that it is not a minority institution under Article 30 of the Constitution couldn’t have been obliterated by Parliament in 1981 through an amendment to AMU Act, 1920.
In rejoinder, senior advocate Rajeev Dhawan said it is a historical fact Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College was established and managed by Muslims and it formed the nucleus of AMU. Its assets and liabilities were made part of AMU, he said, arguing that this indicates AMU was a continuation of MAO and hence must get minority status.