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Hearing a PIL that challenged newly enacted Rajasthan Madarsa Board Act 2020, on Wednesday, Rajasthan High Court has issued notice to Union of India and Rajasthan State Government.

Division Bench of Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice Vinit Kumar Mathur heard the matter.      

The plea was filed by one Mukesh Jain stating that the enactment of the Rajasthan Madarsa Board Act 2020 is illegal as it is based and purpose for a particular specific religion in the democratic State.

Stating that the enactment of this law is beyond the jurisdiction of the State Legislation, the petitioner had urged for the law to be declared arbitrary, discriminatory and unconstitutional. He stressed that the law be declared ultra vires from the preamble of the Indian Constitution and the establishment of the Secular Democratic Republic of India.

The matter has been next listed after four weeks.

The Plea in Brief

The petitioner had contended that according to National Education Policy, 2020, the primary education is to be provided in mother tongue, and as Rajasthan’s mother tongue is Hindi and the Madarsa use Arabic and Persion languages to teach, it is illegal.

Petitioner further alleges that non-usage of Hindi or English, imperative languages for an intellectual development of children, in Madarsas lead to backwardness of Muslim students of these religious-cum-educational institutions.

He had stated that the minority institutions, established by the other minority community except Muslims, are governed from the regulation of the Department of Education, and there is no concept in the minority institutions except Muslim institutions with regard to provide religious studies to every student.

In the Madarsas neither the regulation of the Education Department nor syllabus are adopted till today after Independence, whereas in every NEP there was a specific obligation to all institutions for take the study in a common syllabus and common programme of examination,” he had averred.

“Therefore, it is necessary to pass an appropriate direction to the State for impose the regulation upon all Madarsas for adopt the concept of the NEP-2020, the syllabus of study as prescribed by the Department of Education or Secondary Education Board and conduct the Common Examination according to exanimation programmes of the Education Department or Board of Secondary Education,” states the plea.

Further adding that it is an admitted fact that Madaras are unable to succeed in giving an equal emphasis to the secular, scientific and religious education, the petitioner urged before the court that it is a need of time that every Madarsas who is registered with the Department and getting the grant-in-aid from the State for Education adopt the theory of secular education with the syllabus prescribed by the Department of Education or Secondary Board and the examination program is also governed by the State with the same manner which is adopted for other minority institutes.

(Case Title: Mukesh Jain v. State of Rajasthan)