On Monday, 21st October, the Supreme Court held back the Union Government and the States from serving on the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) communications to revoke the recognition of Madrassas that do not comply with the Right to Education Act 2009 and to inspect all Madrassas.
A bench consisting of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrahcud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra issued the interim decision after hearing a writ case brought by the Jamiat Ulema-l-Hind, an organization of Islamic clerics, challenging the NCPCR’s actions.
NCPCR has been long making efforts to get the Madarsa students into the formal education system. On June 7th, 2024, the NCPCR addressed the Chief Secretary of the State of Uttar Pradesh, requesting that the recognition of Madrassas that do not conform with the RTE Act be withdrawn. Later, on June 25th, 2024, the NCPR appealed to the Secretary, Department of Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, Government of India, directing all States and UTs to conduct assessments of existent Madrasas per the UDISE code (Unified District Information System for Education).
The acknowledgment and UDISE Code of Madrassas that do not conform with the norms under the RTE Act of 2009 were requested to be removed with immediate effect. The NCPCR further asked the Union not to expand the UDISE system to madrasas. The NCPCR advised that the Union create a separate category of UDIE to record information about all Madrasas, whether recognized, unrecognized, or unmapped.
Following that, on June 26th, 2024, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary directed all District Collectors to conduct a detailed investigation of all government-recognized madrassas in the state that admit non-Muslim children and to ensure immediate admission of all children enrolled in madrasas into schools.
The Government of Tripura had released a similar instruction on August 28, 2024.
On July 10th, 2024, the Union Government directed all states and union territories to follow the NCPCR’s instructions. The petitioner contacted the Supreme Court, claiming that these rulings violated religious minorities’ right to education under Article 30 of the Constitution.
While issuing notice, the Court directed that pending further orders, the communications dated June 7th and June 25th of NCPCR, as well as the consequential communications dated June 26th of the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh, communication dated July 10th issued by the Secretary, Department of Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, Government of India, and communication dated August 28th issued by the Government of Tripura, shall not be acted upon.
Senior advocate Indira Jaising, representing Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, made an oral request during the proceedings to include all states and union territories as parties to the petition, which the Supreme Court granted. The writ petition was filed by advocate Fuzail Ahmed Ayyubi. In the case, the Supreme Court ruled that no action would be taken against madrassas based on the NCPCR’s directives or those issued by various states for the time being.
The Right to Education Act (RTE) 2009 mandates free and compulsory education for all children aged 6 to 14 years, requiring both private and government schools to meet prescribed standards. The NCPCR’s directive applies to madrassas that are either recognized under the RTE Act or connected to the UDISE (Unified District Information System for Education) code.
The petitioner argued that the NCPCR’s and government’s directives infringe upon the rights of religious minority educational institutions, asserting that these orders violate both the rights of religious minorities and the fundamental principles of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees religious freedom and the right to education to all citizens.
After hearing the arguments, the Supreme Court issued an interim order preventing any state or central government from acting on the NCPCR’s directives until the next hearing. As a result, no action will be taken against madrassas not adhering to the RTE Act at this stage.
