Plea challenging order on minority status withdrawn

The Azim Premji Foundation and the Karnataka State Minority Educational Institutes Federation (KSMEIF), on Thursday, withdrew their prayer challenging the government order, in High Court of Karnataka, to reduce the compulsory strength of minority students from 75 per cent to 25 per cent for an educational institution to get the minority tag. 

The petitioner had challenged the government order, dated June 18, 2014, which stated that to get a minority institution status, such schools should have a strength of minority students upto 25 per cent.

The government modified the order after the High Court had stayed its order, dated 24 July, 2012. The earlier order had fixed the percentage of minority students to 75 per cent. 

The petitioners (KSMEIF and Azim Premji Foundation) had sought directions to the State government to revert back to 75 per cent and implement the Right to Education Act in these schools and provide basic infrastructure like toilets, drinking water and adequate faculty.

During the hearing, Advocate General Ravivarma Kumar submitted that the prayer sought by the petitioners cannot be granted as it will be difficult to ensure even the 25 per cent students quota fixed by the government. 

Counsel for KSMEIF, G R Mohan submitted that the prayer of petitioners seeking to bring in minority schools under RTE cannot be considered in the  wake of Supreme Court directions that the RTE act does not apply to the minority schools.

Counsel for the petitioners later on said that the petitioners will withdraw the quota related-prayer, but will stress for better infrastructure in these schools as per the judgement of Supreme Court. 

The division bench comprising acting Chief Justice S K Mukherjee and Justice Ram Mohan Reddy disposed of the matter with a direction to provide basic amenities to the students in the schools.