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NCMEI Has Exclusive Power To Declare Minority Status Of Educational Institutions,1999 GO Has Lost Relevance
Allahabad High Court
On 13 August 2025, the Allahabad High Court handed down an important ruling quashing a UP Government order preventing Sharda University from participating in the NEET counselling process then underway. The Greater Noida-based institution had sought to qualify as a minority educational institution under the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act, 2004 ("NCMEI Act"), but had not been approved by the Director General of Medical Education and Training (DGME), based on procedures cited in a Government Order (GO) 28 August 1999.
What the 1999 GO Said:
The 1999 GO authorised the State Government of Uttar Pradesh to declare a non-government medical or dental, or paramedical college a minority institution based on the religion or language of the founding community.
Sharda University's Attempts to Secure Minority Status:
Sharda University, a Jain minority group institution, submitted papers under the NCMEI Act to acknowledge its minority status, and the details were acknowledged on 25 February 2025, and Later, on 7 August 2025, it was recognized by the State Government. The DGME subsequently issued an order on 10 August 2025, rejecting the institution's request for minority status, applying the standard of the 1999 GO.
Litigated Facts and Main Legal Contentions:
Sharda University argued that the denial by the DGME was wrong, in that Section 11 of the NCMEI Act, 2004, identified the authority to determine whether an institution was a minority institution, and made the 1999 GO irrelevant after it came into effect.
The University referenced a combined reading of several Supreme Court cases: Chandan Das (Malakar) v State of West Bengal (2019), Corporate Educational Agency James Mathew (2017) and Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny v. State of West Bengal (2018), which confirmed that the NCMEI Act provided the Commission with the power to answer "all questions" that "the minority status of the institution" creates making the NCMEI certificate as a right, as there is no minority status without an NCMEI certificate.
Rationale and Conclusion of the Hon'ble High Court:
The Hon'ble High Court, led by Justice Pankaj Bhatia, firmly held in favour of the petitioners, stating that, once the NCMEI Act 2004 came into existence, the GO of 1999 "lost relevance" as the State did not have the power to decide on minority status anymore—this power resides with the NCMEI
Thus, proceeding to make a decision solely based on the obsolete 1999 GO was unlawful for DGME, and any such order has been set aside.
Time-sensitivity and urgency
The Hon'ble High Court, also recognizing that there was urgency and time- sensitivity as NEET counselling was due to end on 13 August 2025, directed DGME (or relevant authority) that it must reconsider Sharda University's applications and come to a fresh decision by 3 PM on Wednesday (13 August 2025), as well as directly notify the petitioners by email.
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