‘Primary objective of Madrasas is education’: Supreme Court upholds Madrasa Education Board Act

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has upheld the Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Education Board Act, observing that education is the basic objective of madrasas while imparting religious instruction. By canceling the Allahabad High Court order which annulled the 2004 Act, Chief Justice D.Y. Important judgment of the bench chaired by Chandrachud.
The court pointed out that the High Court’s assessment that the Madrasa Act is against the section of the Constitution related to freedom of religion is wrong. In the judgment, the court observed that minorities are not sovereign in the matter of educational institutions and governments can impose restrictions in this regard. The Madrasa Act in UP has a regulatory character regulating the standard of education, conducting examinations and issuing certificates. And, the court held that it protects minority interest. At the same time, the court held that the sections of the Madrasa Act regulating higher education through FASIL and CAM degrees are unconstitutional and are against the provisions of the UGC Act.
The Madrasa Education Board Act was struck down by the Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow bench last March, stating that it was unconstitutional. The action was clearly against secularism. Madrasa students were also ordered to join the formal school system. Stating that the law is unconstitutional and violative of fundamental rights, A.S. The action was taken on a petition filed by Rathod. The bench headed by Chief Justice heard the arguments by staying the High Court order on the petitions against this.
The bench had come down hard on the Child Rights Commission for sending a circular to regulate madrassas and end government funding while the matter was pending before the court. The court asked what was the overzealousness of the commission only in the case of madrasas and whether similar action was taken in the case of other religious institutions. It will be clear if the details regarding this will be available only when the full form of the judgment copy comes out. There are about a quarter of a lakh madrasas in UP, but only 16,000 madrasas are recognized by the Madrasa Education Board.