Appeal in Supreme Court against Allahabad High Court verdict quashing Uttar Pradesh Madarsa Act

An appeal has been filed before the Supreme Court challenging the recent Allahabad High Court decision to strike down the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004 as unconstitutional..The appeal has been filed through advocate Sanjeev Malhotra and drawn by advocate Pradeep Kumar Yadav..Madrasas/ madarsas refer to institutions where Islamic studies and other education may be pursued by students. The Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004 had defined Madarsa-education as including education in Arabic, Urdu, Persian, Islamic-studies, philosophy and other branches of learning as may be specified by the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education.The stated object of the 2004 Act was to empower the Madarsa Education Board by overseeing the functioning of madrasas. On March 22, the Lucknow bench of the High Court declared this Act unconstitutional..A High Court bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Subhash Vidyarthi found that the Madarsa Act was violative of the principle of secularism enshrined in the Constitution of India."The State has no power to create a Board for religious education or to establish Board for school education only for a particular religion and philosophy associated with it. Any such action on part of State violates the principles of secularism, which is in the letter and spirit of the Constitution of India," the Court said. The State cannot discriminate between religions while performing its duties, the Court added.The High Court concluded that the Madarsa Act also violated Articles 14 (right to equality), 21 (right to life and personal liberty) and 21-A (right to education for children between six and fourteen years of age) of the Constitution, apart from Section 22 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956.The High Court further asked the State to take immediate steps so that students pursuing studies in madrasas of Uttar Pradesh are accommodated other schools.This verdict has now been challenged before the Supreme Court.