All parties not heard, HC recalls earlier order on minority status for Jamia

Saying it had “blundered” in not giving other affected parties a chance of being heard, the Delhi High Court Tuesday recalled its order taking on record an affidavit filed by the Centre that said Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) was not a minority institution.

The court observed “we are saying that we have blundered” in taking on record the revised affidavit, regarding the Union of India’s stand with respect to the minority status of Jamia, without hearing or giving the parties any chance of being heard.

On April 13 the HC allowed the Centre to withdraw their affidavit filed in August 2011 that granted Jamia minority status, and had taken on record their new reply on pleas seeking to quash the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions’s February 2011 verdict declaring Jamia a minority institute.

Raising objections over the Centre’s affidavit, JMI, Jamia Teachers’ Association and other parties concerned urged the court to recall the order, which had put the Centre’s affidavit on record. Advocate Amit George, appearing for JMI, submitted in court that the April 13 order was a “gross violation of the principles of natural justice in as much as no advance copy of the Union government’s application for placing their revised affidavit was served to them or any of the parties likely to be affected by their stand”. “We were not given an opportunity to put our case, despite us being directly involved and materially interested in the subject matter of the petition,” the JMI said in their application.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar further asked Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Maninder Acharya, appearing for the Union of India, to guide the government on this aspect. “Let there be peace (in JMI), with your (ASG’s) guidance. We cannot say more on this,” the bench observed orally.

Out of the batch of petitions, one by Vijay Kumar Sharma, president of NGO Yuva Bharti Samiti, alleged that “the Jamia Millia Islamia Act, 1988, incorporates and establishes the university and dissolves the Jamia Millia Islamia Society, which was managing and running it, and the NCMEI has no jurisdiction or authority to declare it a minority institution”.

Accepting the contention of Jamia and the others, the bench allowed their application to recall its April 13 order. It also issued a notice to parties involved in the case and sought their stand on the Centre’s application to withdraw the original affidavit filed in 2011 and substitute the present one in its place. The bench observed that it was “unfair and unjust” in not giving parties the opportunity to put their stand and fixed the next date of hearing on August 14.  “We find merit in the submission of JMI and others. We have erroneously not noted that there are other parties, who would be affected by the Union of India’s new stand,” the bench said.
News Source (Indian Express)