New Delhi: The Allahabad High Court on Friday ruled the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004, to be “unconstitutional” and violative of the principle of secularism.
A bench comprising Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Subhash Vidyarthi directed the UP government to devise a programme to integrate students currently enrolled in madrasas into the mainstream education system.
All grants — financial aid received from the government to grant-in-aid madrasas — will cease, and such madrasas will be abolished.
The Lucknow branch of the court declared the law ultra vires on a writ petition filed by Anshuman Singh Rathore.
The judgment came several months after the state government’s initiative to conduct a survey of Islamic educational institutions within the state. In October 2023, it also formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe foreign funding of madrasas.
Rathore had challenged the constitutionality of UP Madarsa Board and raised objections to the administration of madrasas by the Minority Welfare department, both at the behest of Union of India and state government.
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