HVK Archives: Minority issue referred to 11-judge bench
Minority issue referred to 11-judge bench - The Indian Express
Express News Service
()
7 February 1997
Title : Minority issue referred to 11-judge bench
Author : Express News Service
Publication : The Indian Express
Date : February 7, 1997
The seven-judge Constitution bench, looking into the question of
definition of 'minority' - religious and linguistic - and the
contentious issue of minority education, including access to
technical education, has referred the matter to a larger bench.
While referring the matter to a 1l-judge bench, the court which has
been hearing the matter for some days now, observed that the core
question of who constitutes a 'minority' needs an authoritative
pronouncement by a larger bench.
The court observed that since there were already two judgements on
the question - one by a seven judge bench in St Xavier case (1974)
and the other by a nine judge bench in the Kerala Education Bill
case (1963) - the present batch of petitions by TMA Pai foundation
and other private minority professional institutions must be heard
and settled by a 1l-judge bench. The judges have asked the parties
concerned to approach the Chief Justice for constituting the bench
as early as possible. As soon as the bench assembled this morning
for the fifth day of hearing, and counsel for some of the
petitioners F S Nariman stood to resume his submissions, the court
said that despite the two authoritative verdicts on the moot
question, "pin pricks" had continued over the issue since 1973. It
was, therefore, better that the matter be referred to a larger
bench, the court observed.
The seven issues for consideration before this bench were:
Where a religious or linguistic minority in state A establishes an
educational institution in the said state, can the members of the
religious linguistic group in state B claim rights flowing from
Article 30 (1) in respect of the such an institution established in
state A?
Whether it would be correct to say that only the members of that
minority residing in state A will be treated as the members of the
minority vis-a-vis such an institution.
What are the indications for treating an educational institution as
a minority educational institution?
Whether the minority's right to establish and administer
educational institutions of their choice will include the procedure
and method of admission and selection of students.
Whether the admission of students to such institutions, aided or
unaided, can be regulated by the State government or the university
to which it is affiliated.
Whether the decision of the court in St Stephens case is right in
saying that Article 30 clothes a minority educational institution
with the power to admit students by adopting its own method of
selection and that the state or the affiliated university has no
power to regulate admissions.
What is meant by the expression 'religion' and 'language' in
Article 30 (1)?
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