TMI Blog1971 (5) TMI 69X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ng the decision of the Senate Sub-Committee dated 1-7-70 be quashed as being illegal, unconstitutional and void. The Petitioners are educational institutions founded by, D. A. V. College Trust and Society registered under the Societies Registration Act as an association' comprised of Arya Samajis. These Colleges were affiliated to the Punjab University before the reorganisation of the State of Punjab in 1966. The University had been constituted in '1961 and by a Notification dated June 30, 1962, it was given jurisdiction over a radius of 10 miles from the office of the University at Patiala which seat had earlier been notified on 30-4-1962 as a Seat of the University. As the Writ Petitioners were not within the 10 miles radius of the University, they continued to be affiliated to the Punjab University. After the reorganisation the Punjab Government by Notification dated 13-5-1969 issued under sub-section (1) of Section 5 of the Act specified the Districts of Patiala, Sangrur, Bhatinda and Rupar as the areas in which the University exercised its power and under sub-section (3) of the said Section, 30th June 1969 was notified as the date for the purpose of the said Section ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Punjabi of 50 marks of which a minimum of 25 marks will be required to pass that course. It is alleged that as a result of these Notifications and resolutions of the University the Petitioners Colleges have to teach all subjects including Science subjects in Punjabi and their students have to write examinations in the Gurumukhi script except in the cases exemptedin the resolution of the Senate sub-Committee dated 1-7-1970. It was therefore submitted that the Notification dated 15-6- 1970will result in the lowering of educational standards inasmuch as the students who have passed Matriculation examination in Hindi will be handicapped in studying their subjects in Punjabi and writing answers in Gurumukhi script; that the students who have to prepare their subjects and write answers in Punjabi alone in the University examination will be at a disadvantage in seeking admission to professional Colleges such as the Engineering College, Medical College, Business Management College and other Colleges and in the study of Science subjects; and that the students who passed examination through Punjabi medium will be handicapped in the competitive examinations for the I. A. S., in research wo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ssary for any person who considers himself to be ,aggrieved to wait till the actual threat has taken place. On the. other objection that the Arya Samaj is neither a linguistic or religious minority nor is it a religious denomination we held that it was unnecessary to go into the question of whether it is a separate :religious denomination for the purpose of Article 26(1) (a) or a linguistic minority for the purposes of Article 30(1) because in our view it would be sufficient for the petitioners if they could establish that they had a distinct script of their own and they were a ,religious minority, to invoke the protection of Article 29(1) and 30(1). We had in those Writ Petitions held that what constitutes .a linguistic or religious minority must be judged in relation to the 'State inasmuch as the impugned Act is a State Act and not in relation to the whole of India. In this view we rejected the several contentions which are also urged in these petitions namely that Hindus being a majority in India are not a religious minority in 'Punjab and held that the Arya Samajis who are part of the Hindu community in Punjab are a religious minority and that they had a distinct script ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sole medium of instruction and for examinations, but it seeks to justify it on the ground that it is the national policy of the Government of India that the energetic development of Indian languages and literature is a sine qua non for educational' and cultural development. Unless this is done the creative energies of the people will not be released, standards of education, will not improve, knowledge will not spread to the people, and' the gulf between the intellegentia and the masses will remain, if not widened, further. The observations of the Education Com- mission in its report for 1964-66 as well as from the Report of the Committee of Members of Parliament on education in 1967 were referred to in support of this policy in furtherance of which the second respondent says that it adopted a phased programme for switch over from English to Punjabi as sole medium- of instruction,. for pre-University with effect from academic session 1970-71. It is therefore clear that when the University issued the Circular of 15-6-970 it intended to make Punjabi the exclusive medium of instruction as well as for examination. The use of the word 'sole' in the circular would mea ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ipt which the minority institutions have a right to adopt but in such a case it must not force those Institutions to compulsorily affiliate themselves and impose on them a medium of instruction and script not their own. This Court had in the State of Bombay v. Bombay Education Society Ors. (1) while dealing with a circular issued by the State of Bombay prohibiting the admission to a class where English is used as the medium of instruction, of any pupil who is not an Anglo-Indian and citizens of non-Asiatic descent, held that the State had not the power to prohibit contrary to the rights guaranteed under Article 29(2) the admission of students to Anglo Indian Schools whose mother tongue was not English. Das J. as he then was delivering the unanimous Judgment of the Court observed at page 586.- 'Where however, a minority like the Anglo- Indian Community, which is based, inter alia, on religion and language, has the fundamental right to conserve its language, script and culture under Art. 29(1) and has the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice under Art. 30(1) surely then there must be implicit in such fundamental right the right to impart ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cript or both as a medium of instruction and examination . Prior to the amendment the proviso permitted that English may continue to be the medium of instruction and examination for a period not exceeding ten years but in 1961 it was amended and certain other periods were fixed and power given to implement the provisions. The details of the amendment are not relevant for our purpose. The High Court of Gujarat issued Writs not to, enforce the provisions of Sections 4(27) and the other provisions which were challenged. In a appeal two questions were urged before this Court : (1) whether the University had the power under the Act to prescribe Gujarati or Hindi or both as exclusive medium or media or instruction and examination and (2) whether legislation authorising the University to impose such media was constitutionally valid in view of entry 66 of List I of the VII Schedule. It was held by the majority, Subba Rao, J., as he then was dissenting, that (1) neither under the Gujarat University Act as originally enacted nor as amended in 1961 was the University empowered to impose Gujarati or Hindi as the exclusive medium of instruction. That this was the intention, was clear because of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... be dependent on certain variable factors which however they said were being made on certain abstract considerations placed before them. That this was so was further emphasised when it was observed at page 143 : We have no specific statute the validity of which, apart from the one which we will presently mention, is challenged . In any case the actual decision in the case turned on the interpretation of Section 4(27) of the Gujarat University Act, and as we have earlier noticed it was held disagreeing with the High Court that the University was not vested with the power to prescribe Gujarati or Hindi as the exclusive medium and the provision which attempted to do so were struck down as invalid. The decision however did not express any opinion on the alleged infringement of the fundamental rights of the petitioners under Article 29 (1) and 30 (1) of the Constitution. Applying the decision to facts of this case there is no difficulty in holding that Section 4 (3) of the Act which is in similar terms to Section 4 (27) of the Gujarat Act, by the use of the indefinite Article a prefixed to the word medium, does not require (1) [1964] 6 S. C. R. 368. Punjabi to be made 't ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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