Petitions against scholarship schemes for minorities dismissed

Updated on: Wednesday, June 08, 2011

The Bombay High Court dismissed two petitions which challenged Central scholarship schemes for students of minority communities on the ground that they were discriminated against others on the basis of religion and hence were violative of the Constitution.

One petition was filed by practicing advocate Sanjiv Punalekar who challenged merit-cum-means scholarship scheme in higher education for students of minority communities issued by Minority Affairs Ministry on April 1, 2008.


The other was filed by social activist Jyotika Wale, who challenged pre-matric scholarship for students of minority community issued by the ministry in 2008.


Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice D G Karnik noted that the two impugned schemes are quite different from reservations for admission to educational institutions or reservations in public employment.


"These schemes do not take away any benefit already being availed by students belonging to majority community or any other community. In order words, there is no adverse impact on majority community because of the impugned schemes," the judges remarked.


The bench noted that primary and higher education for an overwhelming majority of students, whether belonging to majority or minority communities, is subsidised. A substantial portion of the outlay of Rs 33,954 crore for school children plus Rs 15,402 crore for higher education has gone to majority community having population of 82 per cent.


"We find no merits in the contention of petitioners that minority status should be decided at state level and not at national level," the judges ruled.

The petitioners contended that students belonging to the majority community whose parents earn less than Rs 1 lakh/ Rs 2.5 lakh are discriminated against vis-a-vis similarly placed students of minority communities. Therefore, they said, the impugned schemes were violative of Article 14.

They further contended that article 15(1) of the Constitution prohibited state from making any discrimination on the basis of religion.


On behalf of the Centre, Additional Solicitor General Darius Khambata argued that the impugned schemes were based on permissible classification and constituted affirmative action under articles 14 and 15(1) of the Constitution.


Article 14 itself recognised the constitutionality of treating each religion as a separate class.


Khambata submitted that the Centre had spent Rs 49,356 crore on education including Rs 33954 crore for school children and Rs 15,402 crore on higher education. As against these above sums spent on educational system in India for all
communities, the total expenditure incurred on these two schemes in 2010-2011 was only Rs 675 crore, he said.


Of the Rs 675 crore spent on these schemes, Rs 446 crore were spent for pre-matric education and Rs 228 crore for Merit-cum-Means scholarship for higher studies, he added.


Khambata contended that students of other communities in similar situation have benefit of similar schemes of the Government which are open to all the communities.


As against the 81.89 per cent of Hindu population, Muslims accounted for 13.40, Christians 2 per cent, Sikhs 1.90 per cent, Buddhists 0.80 per cent and Parsis .01 per cent, the court was told.

Petitions against scholarship schemes for minorities dismissed

More Education news