A seven-judge Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud overruled an earlier Supreme Court decision, which held that Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) was not a minority institution, on Friday (November 8). Though a separate bench will determine whether AMU is a minority institution, the 4-3 majority verdict laid down a test for determining whether an educational institution can claim minority status under Article 30(1) of the Constitution. A key issue here is that under Article 15(5), introduced in the Constitution in 2006, minority educational institutions are exempt from reserving seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. During the hearings in the case earlier this year, the university’s establishment and administration, and the composition of its student body were brought up. Here is what to know. First, what is Aligarh Muslim University (AMU)? AMU was established through the Aligarh Muslim University Act of 1920. It had its roots in the mid-1800s, beginning with the efforts of educationist and reformer Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. At its inception, AMU was an attempt to create a “Muslim” university. Today, it is among the best-known central universities in India. Admissions to undergraduate courses at AMU are through the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), along with National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admissions to medical courses. It also follows a policy of 50% internal reservation for students who study in its associated schools or colleges. According to AMU's annual report, it runs 10 schools which serve as "feeder institutions" of the university. Where AMU stands in NIRF rankings In the government’s National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings, AMU has remained in the top 20 in the universities category. It stood at rank 8 in 2024 — its best performance since the rankings were instituted in 2016. In overall rankings as well, AMU’s best ranking was in 2024 at number 16. In the QS World University Rankings 2025, AMU was in the 1001-1200 rank. In comparison, Delhi University was at a rank of 328, while Jamia Millia Islamia stood at a rank of 851-900. Universities ranking: Year Ranking 2024 9 2023 9 2022 11 2021 20 2020 17 2019 11 2018 10 2017 11 2016 10 Overall ranking: Year Ranking 2024 16 2023 19 2022 19 2021 18 2020 31 2019 18 2018 17 2017 19 How much funding does AMU receive from the Centre? Financial year Funds allocated and released (in Rs. cr) 2016-17 894.7 2017-18 1106.02 2018-19 1109.69 2019-20 1180 2020-21 1520.11 2021-22 1214.63 2022-23 (till June 2022) 302.32 (Data from two responses in the Lok Sabha in 2022) What is the student body composition of AMU? Shadan Farasat, counsel for one of the appellants, submitted during the Supreme Court hearing in January that 50% reservation was given to Muslims in postgraduate medical courses in 2005. This quota was challenged in the Allahabad High Court, which overturned it. The counsel said that while the rest of the student body is 70-80% Muslim, in the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (AMU’s medical college) this number is closer to the halfway mark. Given that it was a professional course and a “very sought after college”, the idea was to “protect” that share to 50. “Otherwise, reservation is not even needed because 70% to 80% of the student body is anyways, Muslim,” he added. Further, he said the total number of students today in the university is 23,675. Out of that, there are 18,700 (77.39%) Muslim students. Muslims comprise 81% of the total women students and 79% of the total men. “The control on the administrative side is substantial. It's catering to the Muslim community in substance. It also takes everybody else in alignment with the secular ethos of the Constitution without aggressively discriminating against it,” the counsel said. According to AMU’s annual report (2022-23): *Total number of students on the main campus (Aligarh) and off-campuses (in Malappuram, Kerala; Murshidabad, West Bengal; Kishanganj, Bihar): 23,248 *Number of university teachers: 1,235 *13 faculties: Agricultural Sciences; Arts; Commerce; International Studies; Law; Life Sciences; Medicine; Management Studies & Research; Social Sciences (with the highest number of students – 2,880); Science (second highest number of students – 2,734); Engineering & Technology (third highest number of students 2,641); Theology; Unani Medicine *Total foreign students: 212 (highest number of 67 students from Yemen, followed by 39 from Bangladesh) AMU administration’s composition Written submissions made on behalf of AMU in the Supreme Court noted that “Muslims have had de facto administrative control over AMU since its founding 104 years ago.” It noted that all of AMU’s 12 Chancellors since 1920 have been Muslim. The first chancellor of the University was Sultan Jahan Begum, the ruler of Bhopal, who served as Chancellor from 1920 to 1930. The submission added that 34 out of 37 Vice Chancellors of the University have been Muslim, with the three non-Muslims being acting Vice Chancellors. The University now has its 38th Vice Chancellor and first woman Vice Chancellor in Naima Khatoon, appointed earlier this year. The submission also noted that all members of the First Court (the supreme governing body of the university) of the AMU were Muslim, all members of the first Executive Council were Muslim, and eight out of 12 members of the first Academic Council were Muslim. It added that “the vast majority of the members of the court, the executive council and academic council throughout the years have been Muslim” and that “Muslims had de jure administrative control over AMU under the 1920 Act. This is evident from the dominance of Muslims in the authorities and officers of the University.” While the AMU Act of 1920 said that only Muslims could be members of the court, this provision was removed in 1951. Question of reservation in AMU In response to a question in the Lok Sabha on reservations at AMU, the Centre said in 2022 that “the matter of implementation of reservation in the appointment of faculty and admission to various courses is sub-judice” before the Supreme Court, and the court had directed in 2006 that status quo is to be maintained in the matter.
