Supreme Court gave recognition to UP Madrasa Act, said- High Court made a mistake in giving the decision

pc: anyway

In a major relief to over 16,000 madrassas in Uttar Pradesh, the Supreme Court today upheld the validity of the 2004 law that regulates their functioning. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud rejected the Allahabad High Court's decision which had declared the law unconstitutional and violating the principle of secularism. The High Court had asked the state government to include madrassa students in the formal school education system. Due to this, a question mark was raised on the future of about 17 lakh students of Madrasa.

Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra were also included in this bench. The bench said the High Court had erred in saying that the law should be struck down if it violates the principle of secularism. The Chief Justice said, “The State can regulate the standards of education (in madrassas)… Rules relating to the quality of education do not interfere with the administration of madrassas.” The bench said that the Act does not directly interfere in the daily administration of madrassas. “This Act is in line with the positive obligation of the State to ensure that children receive adequate education,” the bench said.

The Chief Justice said that just because the law for madrassas includes some religious training, it does not make it unconstitutional. He said the Act is unconstitutional in awarding degrees only under Fazil and Kamil as this provision violates UGC rules. The Chief Justice said the Act aims to protect the rights of minorities in Uttar Pradesh and is in line with the state's obligation to ensure that students pass and can lead a decent life.

The court, in its order, said that certain provisions of the Madarsa Act which relate to regulation of higher education and conferring of such degrees have been held to be unconstitutional on the ground of lack of legislative competence. The bench said, “Thus, the question arises whether the entire legislation should be struck down on this ground. In our view, the High Court errs in failing to adequately address this question of separation And ultimately throws out the baby with the bathwater.”

The Uttar Pradesh Madrassa Education Board Act, 2004, was introduced by the government led by Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav. Earlier this year, the Allahabad High Court, hearing a writ petition, had declared the Madrassa law constitutional. The decision came months after the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh constituted a team to survey madrassas and probe their funding from foreign countries.

The top court had earlier stayed the high court order, with the Chief Justice saying secularism meant “live and let live”. The Uttar Pradesh government supported the Madrassa law in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court had said, “You cannot forget hundreds of years of history of this country in this manner. Suppose, we uphold the High Court order and parents of children still send them to madrassas, then it Without any legislative intervention it will remain just a closed space. Mainstreaming is the answer to ghettoization.”