The Evening Wrap: SC overrules 1967 verdict, refrains from deciding on AMU's minority status

A seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, in a majority judgment of 4:3 ratio, overruled a 1967 Constitution Bench decision, which held that a minority community cannot claim to have established an educational institution if it was created by a statute. The majority judgment authored by the Chief Justice was based on petitions seeking minority status to the Aligarh Muslim University. Chief Justice Chandrachud said an institution established by a minority community is indeed a minority educational institution. Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and S.C. Sharma were in the minority. A five-judge Bench, in S. Azeez Basha versus Union of India case in 1967, had held that AMU was a central university and cannot be considered a minority institution. The five-judge Bench had held that the varsity was neither established nor administered by the Muslim minority, and cannot claim protection under Article 30(1) of the Constitution. Article 30(1) upholds the right of religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer their own educational institutions. “Azeez Basha’s conclusion, that an educational institution is not established by a minority community if it derives its legal character through a statute, is overruled,” Chief Justice Chandrachud held. The minority status of the AMU, established in 1875, was restored by the Parliament through the AMU (Amendment) Act in 1981. In January 2006, the Allahabad High Court had however struck down the provision of the 1981 law by which the university was accorded the minority status. The issue was referred to a seven-judge Bench in 2019. In his majority opinion, Chief Justice Chandrachud observed that minority institutions are established with the goal to preserve the cultural fabric of the community. The state regulation of minority institutions is permissible, but it must not infringe on the minority character of the institution. Chief Justice Chandrachud observed that it was not necessary that an educational institution should have been established for the purpose of the minority community alone. It must have been only “predominantly” for the benefit of the community. The fact whether an institution was established for the purpose of preserving the cultural fabric of the particular community had to be discerned from primary sources of information like the documents of the formation of the university, letters, speeches, assets involved to establish the institution, the steps taken to implement the idea at the time of its creation, etc. The majority judgment said an institution did not lose its minority character merely because the administration was no longer vested with the community. The very purpose of Article 30(1) of the Constitution is to grant special rights on the administration of a minority institution as a consequence of its establishment by a minority community. The consequence cannot be converted into a pre-condition, Chief Justice Chandrachud reasoned. “The right to administer is guaranteed to minority education institutions to enable them to preserve sufficient autonomy to model the institutions according to the educational values which the community wishes to emphasise. It is not necessary that the purpose can only be implemented if persons belonging to the community helm the administrative affairs… This is so particularly if the minority institution may wish to emphasise on secular education,” Chief Justice Chandrachud wrote. The court returned the case to the Regular Bench to examine the question of minority status of AMU on the basis of the seven-judge Bench decission on Friday (November, 8, 2024). In its written submissions during the hearing, the Centre had contended that AMU cannot be considered a minority institution given its “national character”. The government had said AMU was not and cannot be a university of any particular religion or religious denomination. It said a university declared as an institution of national importance cannot be a minority institution. The university, on the other hand, had contended that it was established by the Muslim community for educating and empowering the community. Supreme Court agrees to examine whistle-blower audio tapes against Manipur CM Biren Singh The Supreme Court on Friday ordered a Kuki organisation, represented by advocate Prashant Bhushan, to produce audio tapes, material to substantiate its claim that Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Sindh had himself flared the violence in the northeastern State which led to the loss of many lives. The organisation alleged that it has audio tapes shared by a whistle-blower of telephone conversations held by the CM allowing in the infiltration and looting of arms and ammunition which fed the violence. Both Attorney General R. Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta urged the court to not take up the case and dent the majesty of the State High Court. Mehta questioned why Bhushan had come directly to the Supreme Court. The Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D. Y. Chandrachud was exhorted by the top law officers to exercise restraint as peace in the State had come at a huge cost. The CM had held talks with the tribal communities to restore calm. At one point, Mehta indicated that the court may be “sitting in an ivory tower”. To this, Chief Justice Chandrachud retorted that the court had ordered to see the audio tapes and material because it was not sitting in an ivory tower and was very much alive to the constitutional rights of the people of Manipur. Bhushan, who said he could not reveal the name of the whistle-blower whose life was in danger, was asked by the court to produce the evidence in support of his claims in a sealed cover. Tejasvi Surya booked by Haveri Police for spreading ‘fake news’ on farmer’s death Haveri district police have booked Tejasvi Surya, Member of Parliament (MP) from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) representing Bengaluru South constituency, for spreading ‘fake news’. Editors of two Kannada online news portals were also booked in the case. Surya had posted on X on Thursday: “A farmer in Haveri commits suicide after finding his land taken over by Waqf! In their haste to appease minorities CM Siddaramaiah and minister B. Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan have unleashed catastrophic effects in Karnataka that are becoming impossible to contain with every passing day”. He also posted links of a news story claiming this from the news portal Kannada Duniya. Hours later, Superintendent of Police, Haveri district issued a press release fact checking the news. “The said farmer Rudrappa, 24, Haranagiri village, Hangal taluk, Haveri district ended his life on January 6, 2022. His father had given a statement to the police probing that case that Rudrappa had taken loans of ₹7 Lakh and suffered extensive crop damage due to excessive rains, pushing him to take the extreme step,” statement from Haveri district police said. Following this, Haveri Cybercrime, Economic and Narcotic offences (CEN) Police registered a FIR against Surya, editors of two Kannada portals Kannada Duniya and Kannada News that had published this news story, for spreading fake news, based on a complaint by Sunil Huchannavar, a constable working in the Social Media Monitoring Cell at SP, Haveri office. The three have been booked under Section 353(2) of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita for publishing or circulating false information..with intent to create or promote, or which is likely to create or prompt, enmity on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community. A conviction can lead to imprisonment which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both. Surya has deleted the said post from his X timeline after the FIR. U.P. women’s body proposes men shouldn’t tailor women’s clothes or cut their hair Men should not tailor clothes for women or cut a woman’s hair either, the Uttar Pradesh State Women Commission has proposed to protect women from “bad touch” and stymie the ill intentions of men. The radical raft of suggestions, which includes men not being allowed to take women’s measurements and installing CCTV cameras, followed a meeting held on October 28. “On October 28, at the meeting of the women commission, a proposal was floated that only female tailors should take the measurement of stitched clothes worn by women and that CCTVs should be installed in these areas,” Himani Agarwal, a member of the women’s body, told PTI on Friday. She said the proposal was floated by the state women’s commission chairperson Babita Chauhan and it was supported by the members who were present at the meeting. “We have also said that in salons, it should only be female barbers who should attend to female customers,” Agarwal said. Agarwal added “We are of the view that because of men involved in this type of profession, women are molested. They (men) try to indulge in bad touch. The intention of some of the men is also not good,” she said, before adding, “not that all the men have bad intentions.” Agarwal said this is just a proposal as of now and the women’s commission will subsequently request the state government to make laws in this regard. ‘Anti-Semitic’ clashes erupt in Amsterdam after football match Israeli and Dutch leaders on Friday condemned “anti-Semitic” clashes that erupted after a Europa League football match in Amsterdam overnight, with Israel sending rescue planes for their citizens. The violence flared after the game between Maccabi Tel-Aviv and home team Ajax, which won 5-0. A Dutch police spokesperson told ANP news agency that 57 people had been arrested without further details. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof denounced the “completely unacceptable anti-Semitic attacks on Israelis”. “I followed with horror the coverage from Amsterdam,” Schoof wrote on X, adding that he had spoken with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to assure him that “the perpetrators will be tracked down and prosecuted”. The pair spoke after Netanyahu ordered rescue planes to the Netherlands to transport the Israeli fans back home. Netanyahu’s office said he told Schoof that he “views the premeditated anti-Semitic attack against Israeli citizens with utmost seriousness and requested increased security for the Jewish community in the Netherlands”, his office said. Dutch media AT5 said the clashes occurred around midnight. Social media platforms were flooded with unverified images purported to be of the violence, but confirmed details of the clashes were few. AT5 said that numerous fights, as well as acts of vandalism, had occurred in the city centre. “A large number of mobile unit vehicles are present and reinforcements have also been called in,” it said. “Young people also allegedly provoked the police”. Images on AT5 showed Dutch police escorting fans back to their hotels. The Israeli embassy in the United States said “hundreds” of Maccabi fans were “ambushed and attacked in Amsterdam tonight as they left the stadium following a game”. In its post on social media platform X, the embassy blamed the incident on a “mob who targeted innocent Israelis”. Israel’s President Isaac Herzog called on the Dutch government “to protect, locate, and rescue all Israelis and Jews under attack”. On Thursday, Amsterdam police said on social media that they were being particularly vigilant in the wake of several incidents, including the tearing down of a Palestinian flag from a building. A pro-Palestinian rally demonstrating against the Israeli football club’s visit was initially scheduled to take place near the stadium but was relocated by the Amsterdam city council for security reasons. The violence took place with anti-Israeli sentiment and reported anti-Semitic acts across the world soaring as Israel wages wars against Iran-backed militants in Lebanon and in Gaza, which have seen massive civilian casualties. In Brief: Trump names Susie Wiles as chief of staff President-elect Donald Trump has named Susie Wiles, the manager of his victorious campaign, as his White House chief of staff, the first woman to ever hold the influential role. Wiles is widely credited within and outside Trump’s inner circle for running what was, by far, his most disciplined and well-executed campaign, and was seen as the leading contender for the position. She largely avoided the spotlight, even refusing to take the mic to speak as Trump celebrated his victory early Wednesday morning. She was able to do what few others have been able to: help control Trump’s worst impulses — not by chiding him or lecturing, but by earning his respect and showing him that he was better off when he followed her advice than flouted it. Six houses torched in Manipur’s Jiribam; woman allegedly shot and burned to death Armed extremists allegedly shot, captured, and burned a tribal woman to death apart from torching at least a dozen houses in Manipur’s Jiribam district on Thursday (November 7, 2024) night. The attack on Zairawn, a Hmar tribal village, pointed to a return to violence in Manipur after a brief lull. Hmars are ethnically related to the Kuki-Zo people, caught in conflict with the non-tribal Meitei community in the State since May 3, 2023. Police officials said the extremists attacked the village, about 7 km from district headquarters Jiribam, at around 9 p.m. A gunfight ensued for about an hour. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), a Kuki-Zo organisation, claimed the attackers shot and captured Zosangkim Hmar, a 31-year-old woman and mother of three children from the village, before burning her alive. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 08 November 2024 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [View in browser]( [More newsletters]( Supreme Court overrules 1967 verdict, refrains from deciding whether Aligarh Muslim University is a minority institution A seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, in a majority judgment of 4:3 ratio, [overruled a 1967 Constitution Bench decision,]( held that a minority community cannot claim to have established an educational institution if it was created by a statute. The majority judgment authored by the Chief Justice was based on petitions seeking minority status to the Aligarh Muslim University. Chief Justice Chandrachud said an institution established by a minority community is indeed a minority educational institution. Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and S.C. Sharma were in the minority. A five-judge Bench, in S. Azeez Basha versus Union of India case in 1967, had held that AMU was a central university and cannot be considered a minority institution. The five-judge Bench had held that the varsity was neither established nor administered by the Muslim minority, and cannot claim protection under Article 30(1) of the Constitution. Article 30(1) upholds the right of religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer their own educational institutions. “Azeez Basha’s conclusion, that an educational institution is not established by a minority community if it derives its legal character through a statute, is overruled,” Chief Justice Chandrachud held. The minority status of the AMU, established in 1875, was restored by the Parliament through the AMU (Amendment) Act in 1981. In January 2006, the Allahabad High Court had however struck down the provision of the 1981 law by which the university was accorded the minority status. The issue was referred to a seven-judge Bench in 2019. In his majority opinion, Chief Justice Chandrachud observed that minority institutions are established with the goal to preserve the cultural fabric of the community. The state regulation of minority institutions is permissible, but it must not infringe on the minority character of the institution. Chief Justice Chandrachud observed that it was not necessary that an educational institution should have been established for the purpose of the minority community alone. It must have been only “predominantly” for the benefit of the community. The fact whether an institution was established for the purpose of preserving the cultural fabric of the particular community had to be discerned from primary sources of information like the documents of the formation of the university, letters, speeches, assets involved to establish the institution, the steps taken to implement the idea at the time of its creation, etc. The majority judgment said an institution did not lose its minority character merely because the administration was no longer vested with the community. The very purpose of Article 30(1) of the Constitution is to grant special rights on the administration of a minority institution as a consequence of its establishment by a minority community. The consequence cannot be converted into a pre-condition, Chief Justice Chandrachud reasoned. “The right to administer is guaranteed to minority education institutions to enable them to preserve sufficient autonomy to model the institutions according to the educational values which the community wishes to emphasise. It is not necessary that the purpose can only be implemented if persons belonging to the community helm the administrative affairs… This is so particularly if the minority institution may wish to emphasise on secular education,” Chief Justice Chandrachud wrote. The court returned the case to the Regular Bench to examine the question of minority status of AMU on the basis of the seven-judge Bench decission on Friday (November, 8, 2024). In its written submissions during the hearing, the Centre had contended that AMU cannot be considered a minority institution given its “national character”. The government had said AMU was not and cannot be a university of any particular religion or religious denomination. It said a university declared as an institution of national importance cannot be a minority institution. The university, on the other hand, had contended that it was established by the Muslim community for educating and empowering the community. Supreme Court agrees to examine whistle-blower audio tapes against Manipur CM Biren Singh The Supreme Court on Friday ordered a Kuki organisation, represented by advocate Prashant Bhushan, [to produce audio tapes]( material to substantiate its claim that Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Sindh had himself flared the violence in the northeastern State which led to the loss of many lives. The organisation alleged that it has audio tapes shared by a whistle-blower of telephone conversations held by the CM allowing in the infiltration and looting of arms and ammunition which fed the violence. Both Attorney General R. Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta urged the court to not take up the case and dent the majesty of the State High Court. Mehta questioned why Bhushan had come directly to the Supreme Court. The Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D. Y. Chandrachud was exhorted by the top law officers to exercise restraint as peace in the State had come at a huge cost. The CM had held talks with the tribal communities to restore calm. At one point, Mehta indicated that the court may be “sitting in an ivory tower”. To this, Chief Justice Chandrachud retorted that the court had ordered to see the audio tapes and material because it was not sitting in an ivory tower and was very much alive to the constitutional rights of the people of Manipur. Bhushan, who said he could not reveal the name of the whistle-blower whose life was in danger, was asked by the court to produce the evidence in support of his claims in a sealed cover. Tejasvi Surya booked by Haveri Police for spreading ‘fake news’ on farmer’s death Haveri district police have [booked Tejasvi Surya]( Member of Parliament (MP) from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) representing Bengaluru South constituency, for spreading ‘fake news’. Editors of two Kannada online news portals were also booked in the case. Surya had posted on X on Thursday: “A farmer in Haveri commits suicide after finding his land taken over by Waqf! In their haste to appease minorities CM Siddaramaiah and minister B. Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan have unleashed catastrophic effects in Karnataka that are becoming impossible to contain with every passing day”. He also posted links of a news story claiming this from the news portal Kannada Duniya. Hours later, Superintendent of Police, Haveri district issued a press release fact checking the news. “The said farmer Rudrappa, 24, Haranagiri village, Hangal taluk, Haveri district ended his life on January 6, 2022. His father had given a statement to the police probing that case that Rudrappa had taken loans of ₹7 Lakh and suffered extensive crop damage due to excessive rains, pushing him to take the extreme step,” statement from Haveri district police said. Following this, Haveri Cybercrime, Economic and Narcotic offences (CEN) Police registered a FIR against Surya, editors of two Kannada portals Kannada Duniya and Kannada News that had published this news story, for spreading fake news, based on a complaint by Sunil Huchannavar, a constable working in the Social Media Monitoring Cell at SP, Haveri office. The three have been booked under Section 353(2) of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita for publishing or circulating false information..with intent to create or promote, or which is likely to create or prompt, enmity on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community. A conviction can lead to imprisonment which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both. Surya has deleted the said post from his X timeline after the FIR. U.P. women’s body proposes men shouldn’t tailor women’s clothes or cut their hair [Men should not tailor clothes for women or cut a woman’s hair]( either, the Uttar Pradesh State Women Commission has proposed to protect women from “bad touch” and stymie the ill intentions of men. The radical raft of suggestions, which includes men not being allowed to take women’s measurements and installing CCTV cameras, followed a meeting held on October 28. “On October 28, at the meeting of the women commission, a proposal was floated that only female tailors should take the measurement of stitched clothes worn by women and that CCTVs should be installed in these areas,” Himani Agarwal, a member of the women’s body, told PTI on Friday. She said the proposal was floated by the state women’s commission chairperson Babita Chauhan and it was supported by the members who were present at the meeting. “We have also said that in salons, it should only be female barbers who should attend to female customers,” Agarwal said. Agarwal added “We are of the view that because of men involved in this type of profession, women are molested. They (men) try to indulge in bad touch. The intention of some of the men is also not good,” she said, before adding, “not that all the men have bad intentions.” Agarwal said this is just a proposal as of now and the women’s commission will subsequently request the state government to make laws in this regard. ‘Anti-Semitic’ clashes erupt in Amsterdam after football match Israeli and Dutch leaders on Friday condemned [“anti-Semitic” clashes that erupted after a Europa League football match in Amsterdam]( overnight, with Israel sending rescue planes for their citizens. The violence flared after the game between Maccabi Tel-Aviv and home team Ajax, which won 5-0. A Dutch police spokesperson told ANP news agency that 57 people had been arrested without further details. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof denounced the “completely unacceptable anti-Semitic attacks on Israelis”. “I followed with horror the coverage from Amsterdam,” Schoof wrote on X, adding that he had spoken with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to assure him that “the perpetrators will be tracked down and prosecuted”. The pair spoke after Netanyahu ordered rescue planes to the Netherlands to transport the Israeli fans back home. Netanyahu’s office said he told Schoof that he “views the premeditated anti-Semitic attack against Israeli citizens with utmost seriousness and requested increased security for the Jewish community in the Netherlands”, his office said. Dutch media AT5 said the clashes occurred around midnight. Social media platforms were flooded with unverified images purported to be of the violence, but confirmed details of the clashes were few. AT5 said that numerous fights, as well as acts of vandalism, had occurred in the city centre. “A large number of mobile unit vehicles are present and reinforcements have also been called in,” it said. “Young people also allegedly provoked the police”. Images on AT5 showed Dutch police escorting fans back to their hotels. The Israeli embassy in the United States said “hundreds” of Maccabi fans were “ambushed and attacked in Amsterdam tonight as they left the stadium following a game”. In its post on social media platform X, the embassy blamed the incident on a “mob who targeted innocent Israelis”. Israel’s President Isaac Herzog called on the Dutch government “to protect, locate, and rescue all Israelis and Jews under attack”. On Thursday, Amsterdam police said on social media that they were being particularly vigilant in the wake of several incidents, including the tearing down of a Palestinian flag from a building. A pro-Palestinian rally demonstrating against the Israeli football club’s visit was initially scheduled to take place near the stadium but was relocated by the Amsterdam city council for security reasons. The violence took place with anti-Israeli sentiment and reported anti-Semitic acts across the world soaring as Israel wages wars against Iran-backed militants in Lebanon and in Gaza, which have seen massive civilian casualties. In Brief: Trump names Susie Wiles as chief of staff President-elect Donald Trump has [named Susie Wiles, the manager of his victorious campaign, as his White House chief of staff]( the [first woman to ever hold the influential role](. Wiles is widely credited within and outside Trump’s inner circle for running what was, by far, his most disciplined and well-executed campaign, and was seen as the leading contender for the position. She largely avoided the spotlight, even refusing to take the mic to speak as Trump celebrated his victory early Wednesday morning. She was able to do what few others have been able to: help control Trump’s worst impulses — not by chiding him or lecturing, but by earning his respect and showing him that he was better off when he followed her advice than flouted it. Six houses torched in Manipur’s Jiribam; woman allegedly shot and burned to death Armed extremists allegedly [shot, captured, and burned a tribal woman to death]( apart from torching at least a dozen houses in Manipur’s Jiribam district on Thursday (November 7, 2024) night. The attack on Zairawn, a Hmar tribal village, pointed to a return to violence in Manipur after a brief lull. Hmars are ethnically related to the Kuki-Zo people, caught in conflict with the non-tribal Meitei community in the State since May 3, 2023. Police officials said the extremists attacked the village, about 7 km from district headquarters Jiribam, at around 9 p.m. A gunfight ensued for about an hour. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), a Kuki-Zo organisation, claimed the attackers shot and captured Zosangkim Hmar, a 31-year-old woman and mother of three children from the village, before burning her alive.  Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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