Supreme Court Upholds Validity Of UP Madarsa Education Act Except Its Provisions Regulating Higher Education Degrees

The Supreme Court today (November 5) upheld the constitutional validity of the 'Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act 2004' and set aside the Allahabad High Court's judgement which had struck it down earlier.

The High Court erred in striking down the Act on the ground that it violated the basic structure principle of secularism, the Supreme Court held. A statute can be struck down only if violates fundamental rights under Part III of the Constitution or violates provisions regarding legislative competence. "The Constitutional validity of a statute cannot be challenged for violation of the basic structure of the Constitution. In a challenge to the statute for the violation of the principles of secularism, it must be shown that the statute violates provisions of the Constitution pertaining to secularism. The High Court erred in holding that the statute is bound to be struck down if it is violative of the basic structure," the Supreme Court held.

However, the Court held that the Madarsa Act, to the extent it regulates higher education in relation to 'fazil' and 'kamil' degrees, is in conflict with the UGC Act and to that extent it was unconstitutional.  

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra heard the challenge to Allahabad High Court's March 22 judgment striking down the 'Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act 2004' as unconstitutional.

Conclusions from the judgment are as follows :

a. The Madarsa Act regulates the standards of education in Madarsas recognised by the Board.

b. The Madarsa Act is consistent with the positive obligation of the State to ensure that the students studying in the recognized Madarsas attain a level of competency which will allow them to actively participate in society and earn a living.

c. Article 21A and the Right to Education Act have to be read consistently with the right of religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. The Board with the approval of the State Government can enact regulations to ensure that religious minority educations impart secular education of requisite standards without destroying their minority character.

d. The Madarsa Act is within the legislative competence of the State Legislature and traceable to Entry 25 of List 3. However, the provisions of the Madarsa Act which seek to regulate higher education degrees such as 'fazil' and 'kamil' are unconstitutional as they are in conflict with the UGC Act which has been enacted under Entry 66 of List 1.

The Court held that the provisions of the Madarsa Act are reasonable as they subserve the object of regulation by improving the academic excellence of students and making them capable sit for examinations. The Act also secures the interests of the minority community in Uttar Pradesh because (1) it regulates the standard of education in Madarsas and (2) it conducts examinations and confers certificates allowing students to pursue higher education.

The High Court erred in holding that the education provided under the Madarsa Act violated Article 21A because - (1) the Right to Education Act does not apply to minority educational institutions, (2) the right of a religious minority to establish and administer Madarsas to impart religious and secular education is protected by Article 30 and (3) the Board and State Government have sufficient regulatory powers to prescribe standards for the Madarsas.

While the Madarsas do impart religious instructions, their primary aim is education. So the Court traced the legislative competence of the Act to Entry 25 of List III (Concurrent List) which deals with education. The mere fact that the education sought to be regulated includes some religious teachings or instructions does not automatically push the legislation out of the legislative competence of the State.

The Court held that the corollary to Article 28(3) is that religious instruction may be imparted in an educational institution which is recognized by the State or which receives State aid but no student can be compelled to participate in religious instruction in such an institution.