New Delhi

In a huge relief to 16,000-odd madrasas in Uttar Pradesh, the Supreme Court today upheld the validity of a 2004 law that regulates their functioning.

The Supreme Court thus set aside an Allahabad High Court judgment that declared the UP madrasa law unconstitutional.

A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud set aside an Allahabad High Court judgment that had declared the law unconstitutional and violative of the principle of secularism.

The high court had asked the state government to accommodate madrasa students in the formal schooling system.

The bench, also comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, held that the high court had erred in holding that the statute must be struck down if it violates the secularism principle.

"The state can regulate the standards of education (in madrasas) ... regulations relating to the quality of education do not interfere with the administration of the madrasas," the Chief Justice added.

The bench noted that the Act does not directly interfere with the day-to-day administration of madrasas. "The Act is consistent with the positive obligation of the State to ensure that the children get adequate education," it said.

The Chief Justice held that just because the legislation for madrasas includes some kind of religious training does not make it unconstitutional.

The Act, he said, is only unconstitutional in granting degrees under Fazil and Kamil because this provision violated UG regulations, he noted. 

The Act, the Chief Justice said, is to protect the rights of minorities in Uttar Pradesh and is consistent with the State's obligation to ensure that students pass out and earn a decent living.

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The Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004, was introduced by a Samajwadi Party government led by party founder, the later Mulayam Singh Yadav.