The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has rendered a verdict declaring the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004, as unconstitutional.
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has rendered a verdict declaring the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004, as unconstitutional. Following a petition filed by Anshuman Singh Rathore challenging the Act's validity along with certain provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Act, 2012, the division bench comprising Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Subhash Vidyarthi issued this directive.
This decision comes in the wake of the Uttar Pradesh government's recent actions, including a comprehensive survey of Islamic educational institutions in the state and the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in October 2023 to investigate foreign funding of Madarsas. The SIT's report, revealing that approximately 80 Madarsas along the border had received foreign funding amounting to around ₹100 crores, prompted further scrutiny.
In December of the preceding year, the high court expressed concerns about potential arbitrary decision-making processes and emphasized the necessity of transparency in the administration of such educational institutions.
Throughout the proceedings, the court questioned the Union of India and the state government regarding the rationale behind operating the Madarsa Board under the minority department instead of the education department. The Act permits Madarsas to operate under the state minority welfare ministry, raising questions about its consistency compared to other educational institutions, including those belonging to other minority communities like Jains, Sikhs, and Christians, which fall under the education ministry's purview.