Lucknow: Muslim religious leaders and opposition parties on Tuesday welcomed a Supreme Court order upholding the validity of the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrassa Education Act and said it is wrong to look at the seminaries with suspicion.
If the government wants that there should be some improvement in madrassas, then it should sit with the stakeholders concerned and discuss it. Any unconstitutional decision will be fought legally, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind’s legal advisor Maulana Kab Rashidi said.
In a big relief to madrassas in Uttar Pradesh, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the 2004 Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrassa Education Law, 2004 and set aside an Allahabad High Court verdict quashing it on the ground that it was violative of the principle of secularism.
The high court erred in holding that the law was violative of the principle of secularism, said a bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.
Senior member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali said now madrassas can run with complete freedom.
“How can a law made by the government be unconstitutional? Thousands of people are associated with these madrassas and the Supreme Court’s decision has given them great relief. Now we can continue to run our madrassas with complete freedom,” he said.
Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind’s Rashidi said the SC upheld the Act while protecting the spirit of the Constitution.
“This is a very big message. Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind welcomes this,” he said.
“If the government wants that there should be some improvement in modern education in madrassas, then we can sit together and discuss it. But if it imposes something unconstitutional, then it will be fought legally,” he added.
All India Shia Personal Law Board spokesperson Maulana Yasoob Abbas said madrassas have played an important role in the country’s independence struggle and given the country many bureaucrats and ministers.
“We welcome the way the Supreme Court has found the Act correct and justified. Madrassas have played an important role in the independence of the country. Madrassas have given us many IAS, IPS, ministers and governors.
“It is wrong to look at madrassas with suspicion. If any madrassa is going on the wrong path, then action should be taken against it but not all madrassas should be looked at with suspicion,” Abbas said.
There are about 17 lakh madrassa students in Uttar Pradesh.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati said the SC order has ended the uncertainty over the future of madrassas.
“The Supreme Court’s important decision declaring the UP Madrassa Education Board Act, 2004 legal and constitutional is welcome. With this, the controversy surrounding madrassa education in Uttar Pradesh and the uncertainty over the future of thousands of madrassas will end. It is important to implement it (court order) properly,” she said in a post on X.
She further said the SC verdict will also ensure recognition of Uttar Pradesh madrassas and their smooth functioning.
The Samajwadi Party targeted the BJP, saying madrassas were established legally after independence and the ruling party wanted to deprive people of their constitutional rights.
“The BJP wanted to deprive people of their constitutional rights. Madrassas were established legally after the country’s independence but since the BJP government is against minorities and does politics of hatred, there were constant talks and statements against madrassas,” Samajwadi Party spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan said.
“Along with Islamic studies, Hindi, English and computer studies are taught in madrassas,” he said.
In its order dated March 22, the Allahabad High Court declared the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrassa Education Act as “unconstitutional” and violative of the principle of secularism. It had asked the state government to accommodate madrassa students in the formal schooling system.
The SC stayed the high court order on April 5 and reserved its verdict on pleas challenging the verdict on October 22.
Pronouncing the verdict on Tuesday, CJI Chandrachud said, “We have upheld the validity of the UP madrassa law and moreover a statute can be struck down only if the State lacks the legislative competence.”
