Lucknow:

The Allahabad High Court has struck down the UP Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004, declaring it “unconstitutional” for violating the principle of secularism.

A division bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Subhash Vidyarthi has directed the state government to accommodate the madrasa students in the formal education system.

The Lucknow bench’s order came on a petition by Anshuman Singh Rathore, who had challenged the UP Madrasa board and objected to its management by the minority welfare department.

A detailed judgment in the case is awaited.

The ruling comes months after the UP government decided to survey Islamic education institutions in the state.

The government had also formed a Special Investigating Team (SIT) last October to probe the foreign funding that the madrasas have been receiving.