Upholding the power of St Stephen’s College to appoint its own principal, the Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by Delhi University and ruled that minority educational institutions have a constitutional right to appoint heads of their institutions.The government cannot encroach upon this right of an institution, the apex court observed while dismissing Delhi University’s appeal challenging the High Court’s recent order that allowed Stephen’s to “select a qualified person as its principal”.In a reprieve for the college locked in a legal battle over the process of selection of its principal, the Supreme Court bench of Justices R V Raveendran and J M Panchal today approved its status as a “minority institution”.“It’s a valuable right guaranteed under Article 30, otherwise you are encroaching into it,” the Bench warned as senior advocate P P Rao pressed hard, challenging the High Court’s decision.Rao submitted that the university had the right to frame regulations for prescribing standards of education and uniformity “in national interest”. But the argument did not convince the apex court. The Bench observed, “You show us one minority college not maintaining the (educational) standards. Otherwise we will be making minority institutions only a farce.” The apex court upheld the High Court’s ruling that the right of a minority educational institution to appoint its head cannot be taken away by any rule, regulation or any enactment made by state even if the institute is receiving 100 per cent government aid. Delhi University had appealed against the High Court order on the ground that Article 30, which grants minorities the right to establish and administer their own institutions, was “not an absolute right”.On August 21, the High Court quashed Clause 7 (2) of the Delhi University’s Ordinance XVIII, which gave the varsity the power to appoint principals of all colleges under its jurisdiction. Allowing the college’s petition, the Division Bench of Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice S Muralidhar made it clear that the pertinent clause would not be applicable for Stephen’s, which is a minority institution.
