Modi government seeks more time from SC to file application in Aligarh Muslim University case

NEW DELHI: Is Aligarh Muslim University a minority institution as it claims? The issue will now be judged in the court after the ongoing assembly elections.

The central government, which has declared that it won’t appeal against an Allahabad High Court order declaring it is not a minority institution, on April 4 sought more time from the Supreme Court to file an application to this effect.

The government’s top law officer Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said that Aligarh Muslim University is a central university and not a minority university. Minority status allows an educational institution to reserve over 50 per cent seats for its own community.

However, the university says it is a minority institution, a claim that the previous UPA government had backed but the Narendra Modi government has rejected.

The issue will now come up in the court after the summer recess, well after the assembly elections in states including West Bengal and Assam.