Court case(1992) 1 SCC 558

St. Stephen's College, Delhi, founded in 1881 by the Cambridge Mission and administered by the Church of North India, admitted students on marks plus interview and gave preference to Christian applicants. Delhi University issued circulars requiring all affiliated colleges to admit solely on the basis of marks in the qualifying examination and to follow a uniform admission programme. The College petitioned under Article 32 claiming the protection of Article 30(1). Students of other colleges contended that a State-aided college could not discriminate on religion in admissions in view of Article 29(2).

The majority held that St. Stephen's was established and is administered by a Christian minority and is entitled to Article 30(1). The right to administer includes the right to choose its own method of selecting students, including interviews, provided it is fair and objective, and the University's circulars could not override it. Reconciling Article 29(2) with Article 30(1), the Court held that a State-aided minority institution may prefer students of its own community, but the preference cannot be exclusive: it must admit a sufficient number of non-minority students, which the Court fixed at not less than fifty per cent of the annual intake, selected on merit. Kasliwal J dissented, holding that an aided institution could not discriminate on the ground of religion in admissions.