“Unconstitutional, Opposing Secularism”: Allahabad High Court Dismisses the Madarsa Education Act of Uttar Pradesh

In a major decision, the Allahabad High Court on Friday ruled that the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004 violated the secularism principle and was thus “unconstitutional.” The state government was also ordered by the court to provide accommodations for enrolled pupils in the formal education system.

A division bench of the Lucknow branch of the court, consisting of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Subhash Vidyarthi, rendered the decision.

Anshuman Singh Rathore filed a writ case, and the court ruled the legislation extra vires.

Rathore had protested the Minority Welfare Department’s administration of Madarsa as well as the validity of the UP Madarsa Board, which was overseen by both the state and federal governments.

It’s interesting to note that the ruling was rendered months after the state administration chose to examine the state’s Islamic educational establishments.

A special investigating team (SIT) was established by the Yogi Adityanath administration in October 2023 to look into the foreign funding of madrassas.