The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Allahabad High Court’s verdict striking down the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act 2004 as unconstitutional.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra has also issued notice in the Special Leave Petition lodged against the High Court’s decision. The plea has been listed for final hearing in the second week of July 2024. Notably, the counter affidavit is to be filed by May 31, 2024.
The top court observed that they are of view that the issues raised in the petitions merit closer reflection. It noted that the high court prima facie erred in understanding the provisions of the Act, which is regulatory in nature. It further underlined that the operative directions of the High Court would impact the future course of education of around 17 lakh students.
Staying the impugned verdict, the Chief Justice noted that while Uttar Pradesh has a legitimate public interest in thinking that students should be given quality education that would help them to lead a life in the society, it would have to be considered if this requires the jettisoning of the whole Act.
The bench remarked that the object and purpose of the plea was to ensure that secular education in core subjects such as Maths, Science, Social Studies and History is imparted in institutions run under the Act. It added that the remedy is not to strike down that Act.
The counsel representing Uttar Pradesh told the bench that it had accepted the judgment of the Allahabad High Court striking down the Madarsa Act. Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj said that there will be no problem in absorbing the students and that the matter requires consideration. Meanwhile, Attorney General for India R Venkataramani, representing the Centre, also supported the High Court’s judgment.
The instant Special Leave Petition has been lodged by Anjum Kadari through Advocate Sanjeev Malhotra against the High Court’s verdict which struck down the act on the ground that the act is against the principles of secularism and articles 14, 21, 21A of the Indian Constitution.
A division bench of the Allahabad High Court comprising Justice Vivek Chaudary and Justice Subhash Vidyarthi passed the order in a petition filed by Anushuman Singh Rathore who challenged the constitutionality of the UP Madarsa State Board Act 2004 and provisions of the Right of Children of Free and Compulsory Education Act 2012.
The Allahabad High Court observed that it was not mandatory for a citizen of this country to be secular by nature and a citizen can have faith in his own religion or in some or every religion or may not have faith in any religion.
Consecutively, the high court observed that it was clearly established that education under the Madarsa Act is certainly not equivalent to the education being imparted to the students of other regular educational institutions recognized by the State Primary and High School and Intermediate Boards. Hence, the education being imparted in Madarsa is neither quality nor universal in nature, the high court concluded.