Giving a big relief to more than 16,000 madrasas in Uttar Pradesh, the Supreme Court today upheld the validity of the 2004 law that governs their functioning. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud rejected the Allahabad High Court's decision in which this law was termed unconstitutional and violative of the principle of secularism. The High Court had asked the state government to include madrasa students in the formal schooling system. This had put a question mark on the future of about 17 lakh madrasa students.

This bench also included Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra. The bench said that the High Court made a mistake by saying that if it violates the principle of secularism then the law should be repealed. "The state can regulate the standards of education (in madrassas)...Rules relating to quality of education do not interfere with the administration of madrassas," the chief justice said. The bench said the Act does not directly interfere with the day-to-day administration of madrassas. "The Act is in consonance with the positive obligation of the state to ensure that children receive adequate education," the bench said.

The chief justice said just because the law for madrassas includes some religious training, it does not make it unconstitutional. He said the Act is unconstitutional only in granting degrees under Fazil and Kamil as this provision violates UGC regulations. The chief justice said the Act is aimed at protecting the rights of minorities in Uttar Pradesh and is in consonance with the state's obligation to ensure that students pass and lead a decent life.

The court said in its order that certain provisions of the Madrassa Act which deal with regulation of higher education and granting of such degrees have been held unconstitutional on the ground of lack of legislative competence. "Thus, the question arises as to whether the entire law should be struck down on this ground. In our view, the High Court errs in failing to adequately address this question of segregation and ultimately throws the baby out with the bathwater," the bench said.

The Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Education Board Act, 2004, was introduced by the government led by Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav. Earlier this year, the Allahabad High Court had declared the madrasa law constitutional while hearing a writ petition. The verdict came months after the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh constituted a team to survey madrasas and investigate their funding from foreign countries.

The apex court had earlier stayed the high court order, with the chief justice saying secularism means "live and let live". The Uttar Pradesh government supported the madrasa law in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court had said, "You cannot just forget hundreds of years of history of this country. Suppose, we uphold the High Court order and parents of children still send them to madrassas, then it will remain just a closed place without any legislative intervention. Mainstreaming is the answer to ghettoisation."