Justice Arun Tan-don of Allahabad High Court on 4 Oct quashed the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Amendment Act, 1981, which provides that AMU is a minority institution, setting the stage for yet another politically charged controversy round of quotas in educational institutions and putting what has traditionally been a politically divisive issue back on the front burner. The verdict was in response to a petition challenging AMUs recent decision to reserve 50% tof its seats for Muslims. The court termed the decision of the AMU academic council, endorsed by the HRD ministry through a notification on February 25 reserving 50% of seats in postgraduate courses, illegal. Unlike in the case of the Supreme Courts ruling that the existing law does not provide room for reservations in professional courses in unaided private institutions when the political class closed its ranks, the AMU case brought out the sharp divisions that its minority character has historically generated. The BJP and CPI welcomed the order saying that the court had upheld their stand against communal quota in educational institutions. The Congress, however, resisted being drawn out. The court held the AMU (Amendment) Act, 1981 was itself illegal, therefore AMU was not a minority institution. The academic council of AMU too had reserved 50% seats for Muslims, which too has been declared illegal by the court. The admissions made in pursuance of the said reservation policy has been declared illegal. The court passed this order on a writ petition of one Malay Shukla

News of AMU