On Wednesday, the Allahabad High Court sought clarification from the central government regarding the permissibility of a state government establishing a statutory education board that allows religious education. This directive came as a response to a writ petition filed by Anshuman Singh Rathore, challenging the constitutionality of the UP Board of Madrasa Education Act 2004. Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Subhash Vidyarthi of the Lucknow bench emphasized that the central government’s earlier reply lacked a clear response to this query.

The bench expressed its expectation for a comprehensive written reply from both the Union Ministry of Education and the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs. Central government counsel Sudhanshu Chauhan has been tasked with informing the court about these responses on February 2, when the court is scheduled to resume hearing the matter.

The petitioner questions the constitutional validity of the UP Board of Madrasa Education Act, 2004, as well as provisions within the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (Amendment) (RTE Act) 2012. The argument put forth is that a state should not be permitted to enact legislation providing religious education to a specific community. Consequently, the petitioner contends that the establishment of the Madrasa Board under the 2004 enactment is entirely unconstitutional and should be declared null and void.

Source: PTI