Minority Commission has original jurisdiction to decide on minority status of existing educational institutions, SC

The Supreme Court today ruled that the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (Minority Commission) has original jurisdiction to decide on the minority status of an existing educational institution..The judgment rendered by Justices AK Goel and Rohinton Nariman thereby overturned the decision of the Calcutta High Court in this regard..The Calcutta High Court had held that the jurisdiction of Minority Commission was limited to hearing appeals against the decision taken by the “competent authority” under the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act, 2004..It was the High Court’s reasoning that the Act does not provide for a mechanism where the Minority Commission can grant declaration of minority status and will have power to hear appeal against orders of the competent authority. This, the High Court had held, would result in two fora having original jurisdiction..This decision has now been set aside by the Supreme Court..In doing so, the Court has interpreted Sections 10(1) and 11(f) of the Act..Section 10(1) lays down that any person, who desires to establish a Minority Educational Institution may apply to the “competent authority” for the grant of no objection certificate for the said purpose..Section 11 (f) provides that the Minority Commission shall decide all questions relating to the status of any institution as a Minority Educational Institution and declare its status as such..Thus, the question before the Court was whether there was a clash between the two provisions and consequently the two bodies (Competent Authority and Minority Commission) when it came to the power to decide on the minority status of an institution. The Court also noted the same in its judgment observing the following:.“At first blush, it does appear that there is a clash between the provisions of Section 10(1) and Section 11(f) of the 2004 Act.”.It then proceeded to dissect the two provisions. It held that the Section 11(f) is a very wide provision which empowers Minority Commission to decide all questions relating to the status of an institution as a minority institution..“Section 11(f) is a very wide provision which empowers the NCMEI to decide all questions relating to the status of an institution as a minority educational institution and to declare its status as such. The expression “all questions” as well as the expression “relating to”, which are words of wide import, clothe the NCMEI with the power to decide any question”.However, one power was carved out from the ambit of the Minority commission and vested in Competent Authority by Section 10(1) – the power to grant of a no objection certificate to a minority educational institution at its inception..Thus, the Court concluded that the power to grant a no-objection certificate to a new education institution is vested with the competent authority while for the declaration of status of an existing institution as a minority educational institution at any stage post establishment, the Minority Commission would have the power..“Thus, any person who desires to establish a minority educational institution after the Amendment Act of 2006 came into force, must apply only to the competent authority for the grant of a no objection certificate for the said purpose….On the other hand, for the declaration of its status as a minority educational institution at any stage post establishment, the NCMEI would have the power to decide the question and declare such institution’s minority status.”.The Court placed reliance upon its earlier decisions in Governing Body of P.A.E.M. College v. State of Jharkhand and Corporate Educational Agency v. James Mathew to arrive at the above conclusion..It, therefore, allowed the appeal and set aside the judgment of Calcutta High Court..Read the judgment below.