Govt to take back appeal in AMU issue

The NDA government has sought to withdraw an appeal filed by the previous UPA regime in the Supreme Court against the 2006 judgment of the Allahabad High Court that had stripped Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) of its minority status.

In an affidavit, the government submitted that it no longer wanted to pursue the matter. The Centre also sought to withdraw all the letters issued by the Ministry of Human Resource Development allowing the varsity to reserve 50% seats for Muslims. “We (government) have filed an affidavit stating that we will withdraw the appeal,” Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said. The apex court would consider the affidavit along with the petition filed by AMU, challenging the high court verdict.

Rohatgi maintained that AMU is not a minority institution and cited an apex court verdict of 1967.