ORDER

In these matters relating to admission to professional courses in medicine, engineering, pharmacy, nursing, etc. in educational institutions which are claimed to be Minority Educational Institutions, the petitioners have questioned the applicability of the scheme framed by this Court in J. P. Unni Krishnan v. State of Andhra Pradesh, (1993) 1 SCC 645, as well as the applicability of the Rules and Orders made by several State Governments on the basis of the said decision. By order dated October 7,1993 [reported in 1993 (4) SCC 286] passed by the Constitution Bench three questions were referred for consideration by a larger Bench. In pursuance of the said order, this Bench has been constituted. When the matters were taken up on March 16, 1994, the Court felt that it was necessary to reframe the first two questions. The hearing of the matters was, therefore, adjourned to March 18, 1994, on which date the questions requiring consideration by this Bench have been reframed to highlight the several aspects of the claims put forward by the petitioners. The claim of being a "minority" - whether based on religion or language - and the claim of being a "minority" educational institution" put forward by the petitioners cannot be pronounced upon without first ascertaining what the said expressions connote and signify. Having regard to the importance of the questions involved we consider it appropriate to issue notice to the Attorney General of India as well as the Advocates-General for the States. It would, therefore, not be feasible to take up the hearing of these matters before the Court closes for the long vacation. Since the process of selection of candidates for admission for the. next academic session is to commence soon, it is necessary to pass an interim order governing admission to the professional courses in minority educational institutions for the next academic session.

2. For admission in the last academic session 1993-94, an interim order in the following terms was made by a Bench comprising Honble the Chief Justice and one of us (Justice B. P. Jeevan Reddy) on May 14, 1993 in Writ Petitions Nos. 350 and 355 of 1993:-

1. We have heard Shri Soli J. Sorabjee, learned senior counsel for the petitioners in these two writ petitions. Issue rule.

2. There will be an interim order in the following terms:

(i) Fifty per cent of the total intake in the petitioners educational institutions shall be permitted to be filled up by candidates selected by the agencies of the State Government on the basis of a competitive examination/test. The candidates so selected and admitted shall pay scales of fee as applicable to this class of students as determined by the State Government from time to time.

(ii) The remaining fifty per cent of the intake may be regulated by the petitioners to admit candidates belonging to the particular religious or linguistic minority. However, selection shall be made strictly on the basis or merit among the candidates seeking admission to the institutions. Such merit shall be determined on the basis of the academic performance at the qualifying examination; or on the basis of any objective test that the institution might itself apply to determine such relative and competing merits or on the basis of performance of the results of the selection tests that the State Government may itself hold for selecting candidates for admission to technical colleges in the State, It is optional for the petitioners to adopt any one of the modes and apply it uniformally. Candidates so selected on the basis of merit amongst the minorities shall, however, abide by such condition in the matter of payment of tuition and other fee as may be permitted by the State Government.

3. It is made clear that this order is made on the assumption that the petitioners are minority institutions. It is open to the respondents to question this status claimed by the petitioners.

4. This order shall, however, not stop the petitioners from urging all other conte