“Impossible for any minority institution to admit 50% of students belonging to minority community” Madras HC

Following challenges made by several prominent colleges, the Madras High Court has stalled proceedings initiated by Tamil Nadu’s State Minorities Commission to verify whether students’ admissions to these institutions satisfy a 50 per cent minority community quota..Justice SS Sundar granted the interim stay last week for a period of three weeks in favour of the Loyola College, Women’s Christian College, the New Law College, St Christopher’s College, and Nirmala College, following initial submissions by senior advocate Isaac Mohanlal on behalf of the colleges..Last September the judge had issued an interim stay on the Government Order mandating the 50 per cent minority quota, after a Christian society, the Institute of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, challenged the same..The Government Order in question makes it mandatory for minority institutions to take in a minimum of 50 per cent students every year from the minority community they claim to represent, in order to retain their minority status..The same has been challenged by the society as unreasonable and impossible to implement, given the low population of students from minority communities in the country. As such, it has been contended that the GO would effectively clamp down on the Constitutional protection given to minority institutions..The colleges were prompted to approach the Court for relief after the Minorities Commission commenced proceedings against them, directing that they furnish details regarding the students admitted to the college, These proceedings were challenged contending, inter alia, that the State Minorities Commission does not have the jurisdiction to proceed against minority institutions in this manner. It has been argued that the challenged proceedings amount to trespassing upon the fundamental right of minority institutions to decide upon matters of student admission..Echoing the prima facie view taken earlier, the Judge granted interim relief to the five colleges, agreeing that,.“It is impossible for any minority institution to admit 50% of the students belonging to minority community.“.The stay was granted after all five colleges undertook that no admission would be denied to any eligible student from the minority community. Notice has also been issued to the concerned government authorities, returnable in three weeks..The Government directive was issued last April, on the rationale that minority status and allied benefits under Article 30 of the Constitution are given to certain educational institutions with the object of subserving the interest of students belonging to minority communities..Opining that minority institutions in the State have not prioritised this objective, the Government had ordered that all educational institutions, including Teacher Training Institutes, under School Education Department claiming minority status should admit not less than 50% of the minority concerned in every academic year..Further, if the applications received from the minority community are less than 50 per cent, the institution is required to admit all such minority students unconditionally and without any screening..Read the Orders: