‘UP Board Of Madrasa Education Act 2024’ Is Unconstitutional: Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court has struck down the ‘UP Board of Madrasa Education Act 2024’ declaring it “unconstitutional” for violating the principle of secularism.

The division bench comprising Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Subhash Vidyarthi has then directed the Uttar Pradesh government to frame a new scheme so that the students who are currently studying under the UP board of Madrassa education could be accommodated in the formal education system.

The ruling came on a petition filed by Anushman Singh Rathore. He has challenged the UP-Madrassa board and objected to its management by the minority welfare department, both by the Union of India and the State Government and other connected issues.

A detailed judgment in the case will be issued later. The ruling came months after the UP government decided to survey Islamic education institutions in the state. The government also formed a Special Investigating Team (SIT) last October to probe the foreign funding that the madrassas have been receiving.

Advocates Aditya Kumar Tiwari and Ghulam Mohammed Kami appeared for the petitioner. While Advocates Afzal Ahmed Siddiqui, Amrendra Nath Tripathi, Anand Dwivedi, Iqbal Ahmad, Mahendra Bahadur Singh, Mohd. Kumail Haider, Sanjeev Singh, Shailendra Singh Rajawat, Sudhanshu Chauhan, Syed Husain and Vikas Singh appeared for respondents.

Earlier in March, Uttar Pradesh STF identified 13,000 illegal Madrassas in the state. STF also submitted a report to the state government, recommending the closure of these Madrasas.

In December last year, the division bench also raised concerns about the potential instances of arbitrary decision-making and the need for transparency in the administration of such educational institutions.