Minority institutions must consult govt before new appointments: Gujarat

Christian minority institutions in Gujarat from hereon need to consult the government before making any new appointments.

The Narendra Modi government's policy was approved by the Supreme Court that stated that it was requisite for minority institutions to obtain prior approval from the state government before recruiting staff.

The Supreme Court has denied that such a policy would amount to interference in the internal administration and also said it was not violative of the fundamental right to manage and administer institutions.

"The requirement of this prior approval is necessitated because it is for the government to see whether there was actually posts available in the said institution as per the strength of students and secondly, whether the candidates, who were sought to be appointed, were having the requisite qualifications in terms of the rules and regulations of the educational department," TOI quoted a Bench comprising Justices V S Sirpurkar and Deepak Verma saying.

"In view of this clear stand taken by the state government, we cannot persuade ourselves to hold that the aforementioned circular amounts to any unconstitutional interference in the internal working of the minority institution," the Bench added.

The Bench made the statements while hearing an appeal filed by Kolwana Gram Vikas Kendra, a minority institution in the state.