Prayagraj. The Allahabad High Court on Friday declared Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004 as unconstitutional.
The judgment was delivered by a bench of Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Subhash Vidyarthi in a writ petition that presented concerns regarding the Madarsa Board and the administration of Madarsas by the Minority Welfare Department involving both the Union of India and the State government.
The matter was reserved for verdict on February 8.
The plea filed by one Anshuman Singh Rathore challenged the legality of the UP Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004 and certain provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Act, 2012.
During previous hearings, the High Court had raised inquiries directed at both the Union of India and the State government regarding the rationale behind operating the Madarsa Board under the purview of the Minority Department instead of the Education Department of the state
Further, the Court had expressed apprehensions about potential instances of arbitrary decision-making and stressed the importance of transparency in the management of educational institutions.
In December 2023, the division bench raised its concerns regarding potential arbitrariness and the need for transparency in the administration of educational institutions, highlighting the broader question of whether such measures align with principles of equal opportunity and secular governance.
Notably, in October 2019, the High Court referred certain critical questions concerning the functioning and structure of the Madarsa board to a Larger Bench (Writ Petition No.29324 (S/S) of 2019: Mohammad Javed Vs. State of U.P. and others).
