Supreme Court judge Justice Satish Chandra Sharma.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Supreme Court judge Justice Satish Chandra Sharma on Friday held "establishment" of an institution by the minority was necessary for it to claim the right of administration under Article 30 of the Constitution.
Holding that Article 30 is not meant to create minority only ghettos, he asserted that it was "wholly incorrect" to assume that minorities in the country required some "safe haven" for education and knowledge.
In his separate 193-page judgement, Justice Sharma said the institutions of national character of the country always serve the interests of the minorities and are diverse centers of learning.
He felt the two-judge bench could not have referred the matter to a bench of seven judges directly without the CJI being on the bench.
He said the notion that Azeez Basha verdict (1967) categorically prohibited minorities from establishing universities due to statutory requirements was "unfounded".
Justice Sharma said the 1967 judgment hadn't precluded minorities from establishing universities.
"The assertion that 'neutral' institutions or non-minority institutions would in the natural course of things be 'majoritarian' or that Article 30 contemplates constitutionally protecting certain educational spaces from such 'majoritarianism-by-default' tendencies, is wholly erroneous," he held.
Justice Sharma held that the purpose of Article 30 was not to create "minority only" ghettos but provide positive rights to the minorities to establish educational institutions of their choice and kind.
He said the minority community may conceptualise the idea of an institution and may advocate for the same, however, if during an exchange or negotiation, the actual institution which was established had primacy of governmental efforts and control, then such institution cannot be held to be predominantly established by the efforts and actions of the minority community.
"The “establishment” of an institution by the minority is necessary for the said minority to claim right of administration under Article 30. The words “establish” and “administer” are used conjunctively in Article 30 of the Constitution," he said.