The Uttarakhand High Court orders to de-seal the premises of a Maktab, subject to the condition that the Petitioner-society would undertake in the form of affidavit before the Sub Divisional Magistrate that they will neither run Madarsa nor use the expression ‘Madarsa’ in the name of institutions run by them till registration of the institution with the Madarsa Board.

The Bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari held, “Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case and also in view of the undertaking given on behalf of petitioners through their respective Counsel, writ petitions are disposed of by providing that the premises/buildings, which are being used by petitioners for running educational institutions shall be de-sealed subject to petitioners giving undertaking in the form of affidavit before the concerned Sub Divisional Magistrate that they will neither run Madarsa nor use the expression ‘Madarsa’ in the name of institutions run by them till registration of the concerned institution with the Madarsa Board and petitioners shall be permitted to run Maktab from the premises in question and no interference with the right to run Maktab will be made without any authority of law.”

Senior Advocate T.A Khan represented the Petitioners, while Advocate Ganesh Dutt Kandpal represented the Respondent.

Case Brief

The Petitioner, Madarsa Inamul Ulum Society, filed a Writ Petition, seeking to direct the Respondents to permanently unseal the premises of the Petitioner-society.

It was contended by the Petitioner-society that in the said premises they were running Maktab, which was sealed by the district level authorities without prior notice or without any reason or justification.

While the Respondent-State contended that only such institutions, which are registered and recognized by Madarsa Board alone can use the expression ‘Madarsa’ in their name. It was also submitted that in the recent past, there has been a mushrooming growth of institutions, which claim to be Madarsa but are not recognized by the Madarsa Board.

It was also contended that due to wrongful use of the expression ‘Madarsa’ by the institutions, the children and parents belonging to marginalized sections are getting confused and they are taking admission in such institutions with the false hope that the education received by them in such institutions will make them eligible for employment under the government or in the corporate sector.

Court’s Observation

The High Court noted that a Madarsa, which is not registered with the Madarsa Board, falls in the category of illegal Madarsa and also referred to the Uttarakhand Madarsa Education Board Act 2016.

Since the Respondent contended that the Petitioner-society was using the expression ‘Madarsa’ in the name of the Maktabs to attract more students, the Petitioner society submitted to that they were ready to give undertaking before the concerned Sub Divisional Magistrate that they will neither run Madarsa nor use the expression ‘Madarsa’ in the name of institutions/Maktabs run by them till the time their institutions are duly registered/recognized by Uttarakhand Madarsa Education Board.

Accordingly, the High Court directed to de-seal the premises of the Petitioner-Society subject to certain conditions that the Petitioner-society would undertake in the form of an affidavit before the Sub Divisional Magistrate that they will neither run Madarsa nor use the expression ‘Madarsa’ in the name of institutions run by them till registration of the concerned institution with the Madarsa Board and petitioners shall be permitted to run Maktab from the premises in question and no interference with the right to run Maktab will be made without any authority of law.

Thereby, the Writ Petition was dismissed.

Cause Title: Madarsa Inamul Ulum Society V. State of Uttarakhand & Others (Neutral Citation:2025:UHC:7555)

Appearance

Petitioners: Senior Advoacte T.A. Khan, Advocates Vinay Bhatt, Mohd. Matlub, D.C.S. Rawat, Gaurav Singh, Shariq Khurshid, Kaushal Pande, Mehboob Rahi, Imran Ali Khan, Ketan Joshi and Junaid Alam

Respondents: Advocates Ganesh Dutt Kandpal, Suyash Pant, Rahul

Click here to read/download Judgment

Uttarakhand High CourtJustice Manoj Kumar Tiwari

Pridhi Chopra

    Pridhi Chopra was earlier practicing as an Advocate in Delhi. She pursued B.A. (H) English from Gargi College, University of Delhi, and subsequently pursued a degree in Law.