Supreme Court put a stay on the decision of the High Court, education of 17 lakh students of 25 thousand madrasas of UP will continue under the Madrasa Board Act
The Supreme Court has given big relief to 17 lakh students of 25 thousand madrassas of Uttar Pradesh. The court has stayed the decision of Allahabad High Court in the UP Madrasa Act 2004 case. The Supreme Court has put an interim stay on the decision of the Allahabad High Court in which this Act was declared unconstitutional. Also, the court has given notice to the parties i.e. Madrasa Board, UP Government and Central Government and has sought their reply by June 30, 2024.
High Court’s decision is not right: Supreme Court
At present, education in madrassas will continue under the Madrassa Board Act of 2004. SC said in its order that the decision of Allahabad High Court is not prima facie correct. Because it is not right for the High Court to say that this is a violation of secularism. The UP government itself had defended the Act in the High Court. The High Court had declared the 2004 Act unconstitutional. The Supreme Court issued notice to the government and others in this matter.
The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court had declared the UP Board of Madrasa Education Act 2004 as unconstitutional. This order was challenged in the Supreme Court. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra is hearing the petition challenging the Allahabad High Court’s decision to repeal the UP Madrasa Act. During the hearing in the Supreme Court on Friday, the court asked the UP government whether we should accept that the state has defended the law in the High Court?
On behalf of Uttar Pradesh government, ASG KM Nataraj said that we had defended it in the High Court. But after the High Court canceled the law, we have accepted the decision. When the State has accepted the decision, the State can no longer be burdened with bearing the costs of the law.
High Court has no authority: Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, on behalf of UP Madrasa Board, said that the High Court does not have the right to cancel this Act. This decision has affected 17 lakh students studying in about 25,000 madrassas running in the state. According to the order of the UP government in 2018, subjects like science, environment, mathematics are taught in these madrassas. Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, on behalf of madrassas, said that Quran is taught as a subject here. Senior Advocate Huzaifa Ahmadi said that religious education and religious subjects are two different issues. Therefore the decision of the High Court should be stayed.
Singhvi said that if you repeal the Act, you make madrassas unregulated. But the 1987 rules are not touched. The High Court says that if you teach religious subjects then it is against the principle of secularism. Whereas the Supreme Court has accepted that religious education does not mean religious instruction.
