THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, Nov 5: Madrasas in Uttar Pradesh have been granted constitutional recognition. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court overturned the Allahabad High Court’s decision and provided constitutional status to madrasas.
Notably, the Allahabad High Court had declared the Uttar Pradesh government’s 2004 law concerning madrasas unconstitutional. The bench, consisting of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra, rejected the High Court’s ruling.
However, the bench ruled that the Madrasa Act is unconstitutional to the extent that it regulates higher education related to ‘Fazil’ and ‘Kamil,’ as this conflicts with the provisions of the UGC Act.
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The Supreme Court had reserved its judgment on October 22 concerning eight petitions in addition to the main petition filed by Anjum Qadri.
Previously, on March 22, the High Court had deemed the ‘Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrasa Education Act 2004’ “unconstitutional,” labelling it a violation of the principles of secularism.
The Allahabad High Court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to integrate students studying in various madrasas into the formal education system. When the matter went to the Supreme Court, an interim stay was imposed on April 5 on the High Court’s order to annul the ‘Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrasa Education Act 2004’.
The Supreme Court’s decision has provided relief to approximately 17 lakh madrasa students.
