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Informist, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024

 

--SC upholds legality of Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act 

 

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the legality of the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2002, and set aside a judgement by the Allahabad High Court, which had said that the Act violated principles of secularism. However, the top court held that the Madarsa Act, to the extent it regulated higher education in relation to 'kamil' and 'fazil' degrees, was in conflict with the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, and to that extent, it was unconstitutional.

 

Fazil and kamil are equivalent to bachelor's and master's degrees, respectively.

 

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said that the Allahabad High Court had erred in holding that the statute was bound to be struck down if it violated secularism. The Bench, also comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said the state could regulate the standards of education, and regulations relating to the quality of education do not interfere with the administration of the madarsas. 

 

The top court said that the legislative scheme of the Act was to standardise the level of education being prescribed in madarsas. The Act does not interfere with the day-to-day working of the madarsas, the court said, adding that it was to protect the rights of minorities in Uttar Pradesh, and was consistent with the positive obligation of the state that ensures students pass out and earn a decent living.

 

While madarsas do impart religious instruction, their primary aim is education, the court said. "The mere fact that the education which is sought to be regulated includes some religious teachings or instruction, does not automatically push the legislation outside the legislative competence of the state," it said.

 

It said Article 21-A of the Constitution and the Right to Education Act have to be read consistently with the right of religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. The Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education, with the approval of the state government, could enact regulations to ensure that religious minority institutions impart secular education of a requisite standard without destroying their minority character, the court said.

 

The Act, which aims to regulate and govern the functioning of madarsa in Uttar Pradesh, also created the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education, which prepared and prescribed course material and conducted exams for all courses, including Maulvi (equivalent to 10^th class), kamil, and fazil.

 

In March, the Allahabad High Court struck down the 2002 Act in its entirety, saying that in the Act, it was compulsory for a student of a madarsa to study in every class Islam as a religion. The high court had noted that modern subjects were either absent or optional. It held that the government was duty-bound to provide secular education and couldn't discriminate by providing education based on religion. 

 

The high court had said that the government was violating the Right to Education under Article 21A of the Constitution by denying quality education in modern subjects. It said the provisions of the Madarsa Act, empowering its board to grant degrees, was in conflict with the University Grants Commission Act, 1956. Only universities or institutions "deemed to be university" under the 1956 Act could grant degrees, it said.

 

The high court was dealing with multiple petitions on the issue of whether the provisions of the Madarsa Act stood the test of secularism, which formed a part of the basic structure of the Constitution. The high court also examined the issue of enforcement of fundamental rights of minor children of the marginalised and poor sections of the largest minority community of the state. The Uttar Pradesh government has defended the 2004 Act in the apex court and said the high court should not have nullified it in entirety. 

 

According to data given by the government to Parliament, as of 2018-19, of the total 24,010 madarsas in India, more than 60% were in Uttar Pradesh. In 2023, more than 169,000 students sat for the Uttar Pradesh madarsa education board exam, equivalent to class 10 and class 12.

 

Chief Justice Chandrachud had earlier cautioned that the impact of its order would have wider ramifications on religious education across the country.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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