Aligarh Muslim University Act

Aligarh Muslim University Act, 1920
Imperial Legislative Council
Long title An Act to incorporate a teaching and residential Muslim University at Aligarh.
Citation	Act No. 40 of 1920
Territorial extent	India
Enacted by	Imperial Legislative Council
Enacted	14 September 1920
Commenced	1 December 1920
Amended by
Aligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Act, 1931 Aligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Act, 1935 Aligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Act, 1941 Aligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Act, 1943 Aligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Act, 1945 Aligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Act, 1951 Aligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Act, 1965 Aligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Act, 1972 Aligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Act, 1981
Status: In force

The Aligarh Muslim University Act is an act of Imperial Legislative Council enacted in 1920. ^[1] The Act was amended in 1951 in order to repeal sections on Islamic teachings. ^[2] The Act was amended in 1967 which was challenged in Azeez Basha case. ^[3] In 2005, the Allahabad High Court quashed the Aligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Act, 1981, as unconstitutional and declared that the AMU was not a minority institution. Therefore, the notification issued by the Human Resource Development Ministry in February permitting the university to reserve seats for Muslims in post-graduate medical courses was illegal. ^[4]

Minority status

The Act is notable for the debate on whether the Aligarh Muslim University had minority status, which came under the scrutiny of the Supreme Court of India. ^[5] AMU was declared a minority institution by the AMU Amendment Act in 1981 by the Parliament. ^[6] The Allahabad High Court ruled in 2005 that AMU Amendment Act of 1981 was unconstitutional. The UPA government appealed to the Supreme Court. However, the NDA Government withdrew the appeal in 2016.

References

1. Graff, Violette (1 January 1990). "Aligarh's Long Quest for 'Minority' Status: AMU (Amendment) Act, 1981". Economic and Political Weekly. 25 (32): 1771–1781. JSTOR   4396615.
2. "Aligarh Muslim University not a minority institution: Govt tells SC". 5 April 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
3. "Government To Not Support Minority Status For Aligarh Muslim University". NDTV.com. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
4. "Front Page : Aligarh Muslim University withdraws SLP". The Hindu . 26 November 2005. Retrieved 4 April 2016.^{[ dead link ]}
5. "AMU row: Centre to withdraw UPAs appeal, push for non-minority status". indiatoday.intoday.in. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
6. "Govt stand on AMU heats up debate over minority status of the university". The Indian Express. 5 April 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.