Second time since April, Uttarakhand HC orders unsealing of madrasa given it will not run without registration

For the second time since April, the Uttarakhand High Court has ordered the unsealing of a madrasa, which was termed as ‘illegal’ and sealed by the government, given that the institution will not run any school in the building without due recognition by the State.

The orders to unseal the madrasa was issued by the Bench of Justice Ravindra Maithani, which on April 3, had also issued similar relief for Dehradun-based Madarsa Enamul Uloom.

On Thursday (July 10), the court asked the authorities of Abu Bakra Siddiqui Madrasa, situated on the outskirts of Dehradun, to give in writing that they will not run any educational institution without recognition.

The petitioners had submitted in the court that they have not been running any madrasa on the sealed premises. They alleged that the Dehradun district administration on March 29 “illegally” sealed a part of their building without affording an opportunity of hearing to them. The petitioners sought directions from the court to authorities concerned to unseal the premises till the disposal of the writ petition.

“Having considered, as an interim measure, till the next date of listing, the property would be unsealed subject to the petitioners giving an undertaking that they will not run any madarsa or school without due recognition by the State government under the rules and regulations,” the court said.

In over a month-long drive that ran from late February till March end, the State has shut over 150 madrasas that the government says were running without affiliation and fulfilling norms laid by the madrasa board. An inquiry on the funding of these institutions was also ordered by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.