Plea against right to appoint teachers in WB Madarsa

A plea was moved in the Supreme Court on Wednesday contending that the judgement delivered on January 6 upholding the validity of the 2008 West Bengal law for a Commission to select teachers in government-aided 'Madarsa' there, would be violative of the right of the minority institutions.

The Managing Committee of 'Contai Rahamania High Madrasah' filed a writ petition, saying the judgment was “completely contradictory and was in conflict” with the verdicts passed in 'T M A Pai Foundation Vs State of Karnataka' (2002) and also 'Chandana Das (Malakar) Vs State of West Bengal' (2019).

“The minority status has been given to certain communities in West Bengal but the Supreme Court while considering the issue purposefully segregated a particular community from other
communities, who have been given the privilege of protection under Article 30 of the Constitution,” it said.

It asked the top court to stay the January 6 judgement and clarify the position of law or refer the matter to the Constitution bench, in the interest of justice and equity.

Senior advocate Salman Khurshid mentioned the matter before a bench presided over by Chief Justice S A Bobde for urgent hearing. The court agreed to take up the matter on Friday, January 10.

In its 151-page judgement, the top court had said, “The selection of the teachers and their nomination by the Commission would satisfy the national interest as well as the interest of the minority educational institutions.” The two-judge bench of Justices Arun Mishra and U U Lalit had held the provisions of the 'West Bengal Madrasah Service Commission Act', 2008 are not violative of the rights of the minority educational institutions on any count.