New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Allahabad High Court order that declared the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004, unconstitutional and violative of secularism. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud issued notice to Centre, and UP government on the plea challenging the Allahabad High Court order. The bench also comprises Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. "The object and purpose of Madrasa board is regulatory in nature and the Allahabad High Court is not prima facie correct that establishment of board will breach secularism," the bench said. The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had declared the law ultra vires on a writ petition filed by Anshuman Singh Rathore, a practising lawyer, challenging the constitutional validity of the act. The Act was brought by the Samajwadi Party-led government in 2004. The Allahabad High Court order would have affected the lives of roughly 200,000 students currently enrolled in 16,500 recognised and 8,500 unrecognised madrasas or Islamic seminaries across UP, according to the state madrasa board. (Agencise)
