Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court provided relief to approximately 16,000 madrasas in Uttar Pradesh by upholding the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004. The three-judge bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, set aside an Allahabad High Court judgment that had previously declared the Act unconstitutional, citing it as a breach of secularism. This decision saves the educational futures of nearly 17 lakh students enrolled in madrasas.
Chief Justice Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, ruled that the Allahabad High Court had erred in its judgment by asserting that a regulation breaching secular principles must be abolished. The bench maintained that while the state can regulate educational standards in madrasas, these regulations should not interfere with their day-to-day administrative autonomy.
The court affirmed that the Act aligns with the state’s obligation to provide adequate education to children. Chief Justice Chandrachud explained that while the madrasa curriculum includes some religious teachings, it does not render the law unconstitutional. However, the provision allowing madrasa degrees under Fazil and Kamil was deemed inconsistent with UGC regulations.
The 2004 Madrasa Education Act, introduced by the then-Samajwadi Party government under Mulayam Singh Yadav, had come under scrutiny earlier this year when the Allahabad High Court’s ruling challenged its constitutionality. The UP government backed the Act in the Supreme Court, emphasizing that mainstreaming, not isolation, is essential to preserving the nation’s diverse educational landscape.
