National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act, 2004:
ss.10(1) and 11(f) – Declaration of minority status to educational institution – Appellant-Society established the College in question as a secular institution – Thereafter, sought minority status to the College – National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) declared the College as minority educational institution and issued minority status certificate – The Society as well as Governing Body of the College filed writ petition – High Court held the declaration and consequent issuance of the certificate as invalid on the ground that NCMEI had no original jurisdiction to make such declaration – On appeal, held: Section 11(f) is a wide provision which empowers NCMEI to decide all questions relating to the status of an institution as a minority institution and declare its status as such – After Amendment Act, 2006, Competent Authority has the power for establishing a minority educational institution – However, for declaration of minority status to educational institution, at any stage, post establishment, NCMEI has the power – Thus, in the present case, s. 11(f) confers jurisdiction on NCMEI to issue certificate regarding minority status to the institution in question – Therefore the orders by NCMEI are valid – Constitution of India – Art. 30.
Disposing of the appeals, the Court
HELD: 1. Article 30 of the Constitution of India grants a fundamental right to all minorities, whether based on religion or language, to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. Section 11(f) empowers the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions 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 that may arise, which may relate directly or indirectly, with respect to the status of an institution as a minority education institution. The power under Section 11(f), read by itself, would clothe the NCMEI with the power to decide any question that may arise with regard to the right to establish and/or administer educational institutions by a minority. It also includes the power to declare such institution as a minority educational institution, which is established and administered as such, so that it can avail of the fundamental right guaranteed under Article 30 of the Constitution. [Para 16][1048-D-F]
2. However, Section 10(1), which was introduced at the same time as Section 11(f) by the Amendment Act of 2006, carves out one facet of the aforesaid power contained in Section 11(f), namely the grant of a no objection certificate to a minority educational institution at its inception. 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. It cannot be said that the said powers are concurrent. Harmoniously read, all applications for the establishment of a minority educational institution after the Amendment Act of 2006 must go only to the competent authority set up under the statute. 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. [Para 17][1048-G-H; 1049-A]
3. The fundamental right under Article 30 cannot be waived. The University of North Bengal has accepted the NCMEI’s order dated 5.11.2009 in which the NCMEI had gone into the question of the college’s minority status. It would not, therefore, be in the fitness of things to send back this matter to be decided afresh at the behest of a governing body which can no longer claim to govern the college set up by the society. As the new governing body has been constituted on the footing that the College is a minority educational institution, the parallel governing body, which claims to continue as such, has no legs to stand after the formation of a new governing body. This being the case, the matter need not be sent back to the NCMEI for a de novo hearing on merits. [Para 22][1050-G-H; 1051-B]
4. Insofar as existing minority institutions are concerned, Section 11(f) clearly confers jurisdiction on the NCMEI to issue a certificate regarding the status of the minority educational institution. The order dated 23.10.2007 and the certificate dated 25.10.2007 are declared to be valid in law. [Paras 21, 23][1050E; 1051-C] Governing Body OF P.A.E.M. College v. State of
Jharkhand decided by Supreme Court on 6.12.2012; Corporate Educational Agency v. James Mathew (2017)
15 SCC 595 – relied on.
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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