Supreme Court upholds UP Madrasa Education Act, quashes Allahabad High Court order

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has upheld the Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Education Act. The three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud upheld the 2004 Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrasa Education Act by quashing the Allahabad High Court's March 22 verdict.

The Allahabad High Court in its order had said that the 2004 Act was violative of the principle of secularism enshrined in the Constitution of India. The High Court had further asked the state to take immediate steps so that students pursuing studies in Madarsas of Uttar Pradesh are accommodated in other schools.

Hearing the case, the apex court described India as a "melting pot of cultures, civilisations and religions" and stressed taking steps to preserve it.

"Ultimately we have to see it through the broad sweep of the country. Religious instructions are there not just for the Muslims. It is there in Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, etc. The country ought to be a melting pot of cultures, civilisations, and religions. Let us preserve it that way. The answer to ghettoization is to allow people to come to the mainstream and to allow them to come together. Otherwise, what we essentially would be doing is to keep them in silos," observed the CJI.

Justice Pardiwala observed that the teaching of religion has not been prohibited by the Constitution.

The bench said that such religious instructions are not unique to the Muslim community and other religions have the same too.

Counsel appearing for the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) said that the education imparted to children in Madrassa is not comprehensive, and is therefore against the provisions of the Right to Education Act, 2009.

The Madrassa are infringing on children's fundamental right to a good education by failing to provide these basic requirements, said the NCPCR while adding that children are denied not only a suitable education but also a healthy atmosphere and improved opportunities for growth.