(1) This Ordinance may be called the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Ordinance, 2004.

(2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

(3) It shall come into force at once.

In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires,

(a) affiliation together with its grammatical variations, includes, in relation to a college, recognition of such college by, association of such college with, and admission of such college to the privileges of, a Scheduled University;

(b) college means a college or teaching institution (other than a University) established or maintained by a person or group of persons from amongst a minority community;

(c) Commission means the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions constituted under Section 3;

(d) degree means any such degree as may, with previous approval of the Central Government, be specified in this behalf by the University Grants Commission, by notification in the Official Gazette;

(e) Member means a member of the Commission and includes the Chairperson;

(f) minority , for the purpose of this Ordinance, means a community notified as such by the Central Government;

(g) Minority Educational Institution means a college or institution (other than a University) established or maintained by a person or group of persons from amongst the minorities;

(h) prescribed means prescribed by rules made under this Ordinance;

(i) qualification means a degree or any other qualification awarded by a University;

(j) Scheduled University means a University specified in the Schedule;

(k) technical education has the meaning assigned to it in clause (g) of Section 2 of the All India Council for Technical Education Act, 1987 (52 of 1987);

(l) University means a University defined under clause (f) of Section 2 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 (3 of 1956), and includes an institution deemed to be a University under Section 3 of that Act, or an institution specifically empowered by an Act of Parliament to confer or grant degrees.

THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR MINORITY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

(1) The Central Government shall, by notification in the Official Gazette, constitute a body to be known as the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions to exercise the powers conferred on, and to perform the functions assigned to it, under this Ordinance.

(2) The Commission shall consist of a Chairperson and two members to be nominated by the Central Government.

(1) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as the Chairperson unless he,

(a) is a member of a minority community; and

(b) has been a Judge of a High Court.

(2) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Member unless he,

(a) is a member of a minority community; and

(b) is a person of eminence, ability and integrity.

(1) Every Member shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he assumes office.

(2) A Member may, by writing under his hand addressed to the Central Government, resign from the office of Chairperson or, as the case may be, of Member at any time.

(3) The Central Government shall remove a person from the office of Member if that person

(a) becomes an undischarged insolvent;

(b) is convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for an offence which, in the opinion of the Central Government, involves moral turpitude;

(c) becomes of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court;

(d) refuses to act or becomes incapable of acting;

(e) is, without obtaining leave of absence from the Commission, absent from three consecutive meetings of the Commission; or

(f) in the opinion of the Central Government, has so abused the position of Chairperson or Member as to render that person's continuance in office detrimental to the public interest:

Provided that no person shall be removed under this clause until that person has been given an opportunity of being heard in the matter.

(4) A vacancy caused under sub-section (2) or otherwise shall be filled by fresh nomination and a person as nominated shall hold office for the unexpired period of the term for which his predecessor in office would have held office if such vacancy had not arisen.

(5) The salaries and allowances payable to, and the other terms and conditions of service of, the Chairperson and Members shall be such as may be prescribed.

(1) The Central Government shall provide the Commission with a Secretary and such other officers and employees as may be necessary for the efficient performance of the functions of the Commission under this Ordinance.

(2) The salaries and allowances payable to, and the other terms and conditions of service of, the Secretary, officers and other employees appointed for the purpose of the Commission shall be such as may be prescribed.

The salaries and allowances payable to the Chairperson and Members and the administrative expenses, including salaries, allowances and pensions payable to the Secretary, officers and other employees referred to in Section 6, shall be paid out of the grants referred to in sub-section (1) of Section 14.

No act or proceeding of the Commission shall be questioned or shall be invalid on the ground merely of the existence of any vacancy or defect in the constitution of the Commission.

(1) The Commission shall meet as and when necessary at such time and place as the Chairperson may think fit.

(2) The Commission shall regulate its own procedure.

(3) All orders and decisions of the Commission shall be authenticated by the Secretary or any other officer of the Commission duly authorised by the Secretary in this behalf.

RIGHT OF A MINORITY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, a Minority Educational Institution may seek recognition as an affiliated college of a Scheduled University of its choice.

FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF THE COMMISSION

Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, the Commission shall

(a) advice the Central Government or any State Government on any question relating to the education of minorities that may be referred to it;

(b) look into specific complaints regarding deprivation or violation of rights of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice and any dispute relating affiliation to a Scheduled University and report its findings to the Central Government for its implementation; and

(c) to do such other acts and things as may be necessary, incidental or conducive to the attainment of all or any of the objects of the Commission.

(1) If any dispute arises between a minority educational institution and a Scheduled University relating to its affiliation to such University, the decision of the Commission thereon shall be final.

(2) The Commission shall, for the purposes of discharging its functions under this Ordinance, have all the powers of a civil court while trying a suit and in particular, in respect of the following matters, namely:

(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person from any part of India and examining him on oath;

(b) requiring the discovery and production of any document;

(c) receiving evidence on affidavits;

(d) subject to the provisions of Sections 123 and 124 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (1 of 1872) requisitioning any public record or document or copy of such record or document from any office;

(e) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents; and

(f) any other matter which may be prescribed.

The Chairperson shall exercise such financial and administrative powers as may be vested in him by the rules made under this section:

Provided that the Chairperson shall have authority to delegate such of the financial and administrative powers as he may think fit to any Member or Secretary or any other officer of the Commission subject to the condition that such Member or Secretary or officer shall, while exercising such delegated powers, continue to act under the direction, control and supervision of the Chairperson.

FINANCE, ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT

(1) The Central Government shall, after due appropriation made by Parliament by law in this behalf, pay to the Commission by way of grants such sums of money as the Central Government may think fit for being utilised for the purposes of this Ordinance.

(2) The Commission may spend such sums of money as it thinks fit for performing the functions under this Ordinance, and such sums shall be treated as expenditure payable out of the grants referred to in sub-section (1).

(1) The Commission shall maintain proper accounts and other relevant records and prepare an annual statement of accounts in such form as may be prescribed by the Central Government in consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India.

(2) The accounts of the Commission shall be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor-General at such intervals as may be specified by him and any expenditure incurred in connection with such audit shall be payable by the Commission to the Comptroller and Auditor-General.

(3) The Comptroller and Auditor-General and any person appointed by him in connection with the audit of the accounts of the Commission under this Ordinance shall have the same rights and privileges and the authority in connection with such audit as the Comptroller and Auditor-General generally has in connection with the audit of Government accounts and, in particular, shall have the right to demand the production of books, accounts, connected vouchers and other documents and papers and to inspect any of the offices of the Commission.

The Commission shall prepare, in such form and at such time, for each financial year, as may be prescribed, its annual report, giving a full account of its activities during the previous financial year and forward a copy thereof to the Central Government.

The Central Government shall cause the annual report, together with a memorandum of action taken on the advice tendered by the Commission under Section 11 and the reasons for the non-acceptance, if any, of any such advice, and the audit report to be laid as soon as may be after they are received before each House of Parliament.

MISCELLANEOUS

The Central Government if deems fit may, by notification in the Official Gazette, add any other University to the Schedule or omit any University therefrom.

The Chairperson, Members, the Secretary, officers and other employees of the Commission shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).

(1) In the discharge of its functions under this Ordinance, the Commission shall be guided by such direction on questions of policy relating to national purposes, as may be given to it by the Central Government.

(2) If any dispute arises between the Central Government and the Commission as to whether a question is or is not a question of policy relating to national purposes, the decision of the Central Government shall be final.

No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Central Government, Commission, Chairperson, Members, Secretary or any officer or other employee of the Commission for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Ordinance.

The provisions of this Ordinance shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force or in any instrument having effect by virtue of any law other than this Ordinance.

The Commission shall furnish to the Central Government such returns or other information with respect to its activities as the Central Government may, from time to time, require.

(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the provisions of this Ordinance.

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing powers, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:

(a) salaries and allowances payable to, and the other terms and conditions of the service of, the Chairperson and Members under sub-section (5) of Section 5 and of the Secretary, officers and other employees under sub-section (2) of Section 6;

(b) the financial and administrative powers to be exercised by the Chairperson under Section 13;

(c) the form in which the annual statement of accounts shall be prepared under sub-section (1) of Section 15;

(d) the form in, and the time at, which the annual report shall be prepared under Section 16;

(e) any other matter which is required to be, or may be, prescribed.

(3) Every rule made under this Ordinance shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both House agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.

(1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Ordinance, the Central Government may, by order published in the Official Gazette, make such provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, as appear to it to be necessary or expedient, for removing the difficulty:

Provided that no such order shall be made after the expiry of a period of two years from the date of commencement of this Ordinance.

(2) Every order made under this section shall, as soon as may be after it is made, be laid before each House of Parliament.

[See Section 2(j)]

1. Promulgated by the President on November 11, 2004 and published in the Gazette of India, Extra., Part II, Section 1, dated 11th November, 2004, pp. 1-8, No. 34