Supreme Court and CM Yogi Adityanath
The Supreme Court has upheld the validity of the Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Education Board Act, 2004. The court declared the bill constitutional. A three-judge bench headed by the CJI took the decision on Tuesday. The Supreme Court, while delivering its judgment, said this did not violate the principles of secularism. This court decision means that madrassas will continue to operate in UP. Students’ futures are not at risk. In UP, 1.7 million students study in 13,000 madrassas.
Overturning the Allahabad High Court ruling, the Supreme Court said the UP Madrasa Act does not violate fundamental rights. The Madrasa Bill does not violate the basic structure of the Constitution. Educational quality rules do not interfere with the management of religious schools. Apart from the syllabus, the health of the students is also important.
On March 22, the Allahabad High Court declared the law unconstitutional and contrary to the principles of secularism. The High Court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to send students from madrasas to regular schools. This High Court order was challenged in the Supreme Court. In a bid to bring relief to madrassa students, the Supreme Court on April 5 stayed the high court order.
On October 22, the Supreme Court had reserved its verdict on a petition challenging the Allahabad High Court ruling.
What does this mean for the Yogi government?
It is also important to understand what this Supreme Court order means for the Yogi government. In today’s order, the court made it clear that the state can regulate educational standards. The government can make laws by regulating education.
The Yogi government is not entirely opposed to the bill. He also expressed his views on this in the Supreme Court. The Uttar Pradesh government told the Supreme Court that the Allahabad High Court should not have found the entire law unconstitutional. Only those provisions of the Act that violate fundamental rights should be reviewed. It would be inappropriate to reject the bill outright. Lawyers said the Madrasa Act could definitely be amended, but scrapping it entirely would not be right.
However, the recognition of all madrassas in Uttar Pradesh was scrapped following the high court ruling. The government has issued orders to run religious schools meeting primary or secondary standards by getting recognition from UP Board, CBSE or ICSE. Madrasas that do not meet the standards will not be recognized by any board and their operations will be stopped. Children studying in these religious schools are admitted to public primary or secondary schools.
What is the UP Madrasa Act?
In 2004, a law was enacted regarding religious schools in UP. The Madarsa Board is constituted by law. The goal was to organize education in religious schools. Religious schools must meet minimum standards for accreditation. In UP, 13,000 madrassas are recognized by the board. And about 8,500 religious schools are not recognized by the commission.
Who has any comment on the Supreme Court decision?
Reacting to the court’s verdict, Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali said how could a madrasa built by the Uttar Pradesh government itself be called unconstitutional. People were very disappointed after the High Court judgment, but thousands of students, their families, teachers have been relieved after this judgment of the Supreme Court. Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind Chairman Maulana Mahmood Madani also welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision on the Madarsa Commission.
