The Calcutta High Court has rejected a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that challenged the Christian minority status of several schools in West Bengal. The court affirmed that these institutions do not require a government certificate to be recognized as minority schools.
Presided over by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam and Justice Chaitali Chatterjee (Das), the division bench referenced multiple Supreme Court judgments which establish that a minority institution retains its status irrespective of government declaration. The court expressed skepticism about the motives of the petitioner, indicating that the legal principles concerning minority institutions are well-established and were seemingly misunderstood or ignored by the petitioner.
The controversy began with a 2019 petition arguing that certain schools could not be considered Christian minority institutions as they had not been officially certified by the West Bengal Minority Commission. The petitioner contended that schools must first be certified by the appropriate state authority to claim minority status.
Responding to these claims, the attorney representing the respondent schools highlighted that these institutions were founded in the 19th century and have been recognized as Christian minority entities since their inception. He pointed out that the West Bengal Minority Commission, established only in 2010, stipulates that schools seeking a certificate of minority status must apply to it, but this does not retroactively affect the status of institutions established before its creation.
Chief Justice Sivagnanam emphasized that the status of a minority institution is not contingent upon annual government verification or the existence of a specific rule or commission. He clarified that while the minority commission provides a method for institutions to obtain a certificate if desired, the lack of such a certificate does not invalidate the minority status of an institution.
