Can State Education Boards Permit Religious Education In Schools? : Allahabad HC Seeks Response Of Union Education & Minority Ministries

The Court has also raised concerns about potential arbitrariness and the need for transparency in the administration of educational institutions, emphasizing the broader issue of whether such decisions align with principles of equal opportunity and secular governance.

The outcome of these inquiries could have implications for the structure and functioning of the Madarsa Boards in the state given the fact that the state government is currently surveying the Islamic education institutions in 2022 and has also formed an SIT to probe madrassas' funds from abroad.

During the hearing in the matter, the Court noted that the HC has, in October 2019, already referred a similar set of essential questions surrounding the concerns of the functioning and structure of the Madrasa board to a Larger Bench (Writ Petition No.29324 (S/S) of 2019: Mohammad Javed Vs. State of U.P. and others).

The questions referred to a larger bench are:

"(i) Since the Madarsa Board is constituted for education in 'Arbic, Urdu, Parsian, Islamic-studies, Tibb Logic, Philosophy and includes such other branches of learning as may be specified by the Board from time to time', how come persons of a particular religion are provided to be member of the same? It does not talks about exponence in the aforesaid fields, for the purposes of which the Board is constituted, but persons of specific religion. It was put to learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel as to whether the purpose of the Board is to impart religious education only, to which he submits that a perusal of the Madarsa Education Act, 2004 does not indicate so.

(ii) With a secular constitution in India can persons of a particular religion be appointed/nominated in a Board for education purposes or it should be persons belonging to any religion, who are exponent in the fields for the purposes of which the Board is constituted or such persons should be appointed, without any regard to religion, who are exponent in the field for the purposes of which the Board is constituted?

(iii) The Act further provides the Board to function under the Minority Welfare Ministry of State of U.P., hence, a question arises as to whether it is arbitrary for providing the Madarsa education to be run under the Minority Welfare Department while all the other education institutions including those belonging to other minorities communities like Jains, Sikhs, Christians etc being run under the Education Ministry and whether it arbitrarily denies the benefit of experts of education and their policies to the children studying in Madarsa?

Against this backdrop, stressing that the issues impact a huge number of students in the country and the quality of their education, more so when read with Article 21-A of the Constitution of India, the Court last month directed the counsels for Madarsa Board, Union of India and the State Government to bring all available material/views of the respective parties before the Court along with any policies in vogue on their part with three weeks.

The matter has now been posted for further hearing on February 1, 2024.