Big relief to UP madarsas, Supreme Court says 2004 law valid, High Court erred

The bench, consisting of Chief Justice of India DY Chandracuhd, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra, delivered a ruling invalidating the High Court’s decision on March 22 that deemed the Madarsa Education Act 2004 as “unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court ruled against the Allahabad High Court’s decision to declare the Act unconstitutional.

In Short

• The decision of the Allahabad High Court’s ruling on March 22 has been reversed by the Supreme Court.
• Standardizing madrasa education is the primary goal of the Act.
• Under state supervision, madrasas will be operational.

In a ruling on Friday, the Allahabad High Court deemed the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004, as “unconstitutional” and contradictory to the principle of secularism.

Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Subhash Vidyarthi, presiding on the bench, have instructed the Uttar Pradesh government to devise a program that would integrate students from Madrasas into the conventional education framework.

Upon the filing of a writ petition by an individual named Anshuman Singh Rathore, the Lucknow branch of the court ruled the law as ultra vires.