On eve of hearing in minorities case, Soli gets Governor balloon

More so because Solicitor General Harish Salve, the number two law officer, has already set the stage for a possible confrontation arming himself with a Cabinet endorsement of his stand that erodes minority rights.

In fact, in marathon hearings before the 11-judge bench, Salve has argued that minority educational institutions should submit to greater state control if they receive government funding. ‘‘The tax-payer doesn’t pay to promote the interests of any particular community,’’ Salve told the court. The fact that Salve briefed the Cabinet on July 18 and got its approval is being seen as a move to put Sorbajee under pressure as he prepares to deliver his piece. Sorabjee, incidentally, is not representing the Government in this matter citing conflict of interest since he appeared for one of the petitioners at an earlier stage. But on court’s request on May 2—at the behest of some petitioners— Sorabjee agreed to make submissions independent of the Government’s stand spelt out by Salve.

When The Indian Express contacted him on May 12, Sorabjee made a cryptic remark: ‘‘Theoretically, my submissions may not be identical to those of the Union of India.’’

The Cabinet’s post-facto endorsement of Salve’s submissions is clearly meant to exert pressure on Sorabjee to concur with the NDA Government’s ambitious bid to undo the existing law on minority educational institutions.

Salve has questioned the validity of several landmark judgments. One of them is the 1992 ruling in the case of Delhi’s St. Stephen’s College. In that case, the apex court sought to balance the conflict between secularism and minority rights by laying down that an aided minority institution can reserve up to 50 per cent of the seats for members of its community. But Salve has contended that once a minority institution receives aid, it loses the special right to have that 50 per cent quota. In 1997, when the United Front was in power, the then Attorney General Ashok Desai came out in support of the St Stephen’s judgment.

Legal circles are keenly waiting to see whether Sorabjee will on July 26 go with his predecessor or follow the NDA Government’s substantially different view on minority rights.