FEBRUARY 3: The Supreme Court has upheld the minority status of the South Indian Education Society's College of Management Studies, Mumbai. The state government had filed a Special Leave Petition in the Apex Court challenging the Bombay High Court's decision to grant minority status to the SIES College of Management.Objecting to permission granted to the college to conduct separate interviews for MMS degree candidates of the linguistic minority, the government had argued that the concept of regional and linguistic minority groups should not be encouraged in educational institutions. However, the apex court found no merit in the petition.The SIES College of Management Studies had sought minority status for the south Indian community comprising Tamilians, Telegus, Malayalis, Kannadigas and Tulus. It maintained that south Indians constitute only about 3.79 per cent of the total population of Maharashtra, and are bound by a common culture and tradition which the institution intends to preserve.
