Guwahati: Assam's Gauhati High Court in its judgment on February 4 (Friday) said that educational institutions receiving funds from the government cannot impart religious education. The High Court, while upholding the Assam government's decision to convert all state-funded Madarsa into normal schools, dismissed the plea of 13 Muttavalis (donors) who had given land for madrassas.

It may be recalled that the state government had passed the Assam Repeating Act-2020 in the assembly and decided to convert government-aided Madarsa into schools on the basis of this law. Under this Act, the Madarsa Education (Provincialisation) Act, 1995 and the Assam Madarsa Education (Provincialisation of Services of Employees and Reorganisation of Madarsa Educational Institutions) Act- 2018 were abolished. The court in its judgement said that in a country of different religions, the government should remain neutral in religious matters.  

The court further said that we live in a democracy and under the Constitution, where every citizen is equal. Therefore, in a multi-religious society like ours, the state giving preference to one religion is violative of Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution of the country. It is thus the nature of a secular state to ensure that religious education is not imparted in any institution funded by the government.'' It is not in consonance with 28(1) of the Constitution.

A bench of Chief Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Soumitra Saikia of the High Court in its judgement said that the change that has been made by the legislature and executive is only for government-aided Madarsas and not for private or community Madarsas. With this, the court dismissed the petition challenging the validity of the Act.

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