The Supreme Court has ruled that linguistic minority educational institutions are not bound to give an undertaking to give reservation to Scheduled Castes(SCs) and Scheduled Tribes(STs) in jobs for getting government grant-in-aid.

A bench comprising Justices B S Chouhan and Swatanter Kumar, while allowing the appeal of Sindhi Education Society running a senior secondary school in Lajpat Nagar area of New Delhi, ruled that Rule 64(1)(b) of Delhi School Education Rules, 1973 and the circular of Delhi government of September 1989 are not enforceable against the linguistic minority school in the National Capital Territory(NCT) of Delhi.

Justice Kumar writing 109-page judgement strongly disapproved the observation of the Delhi High Court that minority institution cannot be forced to appoint a teaching faculty who may be inimical towards the minority community.

The apex court noted, 'The Preamble of Our Constitution requires the people of India to constitute into a 'Sovereign, socialist, secular democratic republic'.

Secularism, therefore, is the essence of our democratic system. Secularism and brotherhoodness is a golden thread that runs into the entire constitutional scheme formulated by the framers of the constitution.

The view of the learned single judge and the division bench in the case of Sumanjit Kaur runs contra to the enunciated law.

We are afraid that while deciding a constitutional matter in accordance with law, the court would not be competent to raise a presumption of inimical attitude of and towards one community or the other.

We do not approve the view of the High Court that a provision of an Act or a circular issued thereunder could be declared as unconstitutional on such presumptuous ground.' The apex court concluded by holding, 'Every linguistic minority may have its own socio, economic and cultural limitations.

It has a constitutional right to conserve such culture and language. Thus it would have a right to choose teachers, who possess the eligibility and qualifications as provided, without really being impressed by the fact of their religion and community.

Its right to establish and administer has to be construed liberally to bring it in alignment with the constitutional protections available to such communities.' The Delhi government had threatened to stop grant-in-aid to the school if it fails to give an undertaking to the effect that it will provide reservation to SC/STs in the jobs in the school.

UNI