Judgment

RAY, C. J. (On behalf of himself and Palekar J.):- The question for consideration is whether the minorities based on religion or language have the right to establish and administer educational institutions for imparting general secular education within the meaning of Art. 30 of the Constitution.

2. The minority institutions which are in truth and reality educational institutions where education in its various aspects is imparted claim protection of Article 30.

3. This raise the question at the threshold whether Articles 30(1) and 29(1) of the Constitution are mutually exclusive.

4. Article 29 and 30 of the Constitution are grouped under the heading "Cultural and Educational Rights". Article 29(1) deals with right of any section of the citizens residing in India to preserve their language, script or culture. Article 30(1) provides that all religious and linguistic minorities have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. Article 29(2) prohibits discrimination in matters of admission into educational institutions of the types mentioned therein on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of them. Article 30(2) prevents States from making any discrimination against any educational institution in granting aid on the ground that it is managed by a religious or linguistic minority.

5. Articles 29 and 30 confer four distinct rights. First is the right of any section of the resident citizens to conserve its own language, script or culture as mentioned in Article 29(1). Second is the right of all religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice as mentioned in Article 30(1). Third is the right of an educational institution not to be discriminated against in the matter of State aid on the ground that it is under the management of a religious or linguistic minority as mentioned in Article 30(2). Fourth is the right of the citizen not to be denied admission into any State maintained or State aided educational institution on the ground of religion, caste, race or language, as mentioned in Article 29 (2).

6. It will be wrong to read Article 30(1) as restricting the right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice only to cases where such institutions are concerned with language, script or culture of the minorities. The reasons are these. First, Article 29 confers the fundamental right on any section of the citizens which will include the majority section whereas Article 30(1) confers the right on all minorities. Second, Article 29 (1) is concerned with language, script or culture, whereas Article 30(1) deals with minorities of the nation based on religion or language. Third, Article 29 (1) is concerned with the right to conserve language, script or culture, whereas Article 30(1) deals with the right to establish and administer educational institutions of the minorities of their choice. Fourth, the conservation of language, script or culture under Artice 29 (1) may be by means wholly unconnected with educational institutins and similarly establishment and administration of educational institutions by a minority under Article 30(1) may be unconnected with any motive to conserve language, script or culture. A minority may administer an institution for religious education which is wholly unconnected with any question of conserving a language, script or culture.

7. If the scope of Art. 30 (1) is to establish and administer educatgional institutions to conserve language, script or culture of minorities, it will render Article 30 redundant. If rights under Article 29(1) and 30(1) are the same then the consequence will be that any section of citizens, not necessarily linguistic or religious minorities, will have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. The scope of Article 30 rests or linguistic or religious minorities and no other section of citizens of India has