Supreme Court Allows Madsaras to Function in UP, Says Allahabad HC Erred in Order
New Delhi: As a sigh of relief for about 17 lakh madarsa students in Uttar Pradesh, the Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the constitutional validity of the Madarsa Education Act 2004.
The apex court cancelled the Allahabad High Court order that struck down the Madarsa Education Act 2004 on grounds that it violated the principles of secularism.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra gave the verdict against the High Court’s March 22 judgement.The Supreme Court bench said, “We have upheld the validity of UP Madarsa Education Act. The statute can be struck down if a state lacks legislative competence.”
“The Allahabad High Court erred in holding that the madarsa law had to be struck down for violating basic structure, which is the principle of secularism. The legislative scheme of the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act was to standardise the level of education being prescribed in madrasas,” the Supreme Court verdict added.
The Supreme Court, however, said that madarsas granting ‘fazil’ and ‘kamil’ degrees beyond class 12 cannot be recognised by the Uttar Pradesh Madarsa Board as these are in conflict with the UGC Act and to that extent it was unconstitutional.This ruling of the Supreme Court means that madarsas would continue to function in Uttar Pradesh with the state regulating the education standards.
Some 23,500 madarsas currently function in Uttar Pradesh. Of these, 16,513 are recognised, which means that they are registered with the state government. Among the recognised madarsas, 560 are funded by the Uttar Pradesh government. Even on April 5, the Supreme Court had stayed the Allahabad High Court order, observing that secularism meant to “live and let live”.
