Top Court expresses strong anger as Hindu petitioner tries to drag madrasas into unwanted legal trouble by challenging a settled issue
NEW DELHI — The Supreme Court on Friday strongly criticised a Hindu petitioner who tried to force madrasas and other minority-run schools into the Right to Education (RTE) Act despite a clear judgment that protects minority institutions. The court dismissed the petition and imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh, calling the plea “a waste of the court’s time”.
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan did not hide its displeasure. The judges said the petitioner had tried to reopen an already settled issue decided by a Constitution Bench in 2014 in the Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust vs Union of India case.
The bench clearly told him, “You cannot challenge the Supreme Court’s own decision through a writ petition. This is not allowed. Such cases try to shake trust in the judiciary.”
The court also said it was stopping itself from treating the case as contempt, but the fine was necessary because the plea had no legal basis and only created disturbance around minority rights.
The 2014 Constitution Bench ruling had already made it clear that the RTE Act does not apply to minority institutions, including Muslim madrasas. This protection is given under Article 30(1) of the Constitution so that minority communities can run their own schools without interference.
Many Muslim scholars say this protection is important because it safeguards the identity, culture, and educational freedom of Muslims in a country where they often face pressure from groups trying to interfere in their institutions.
A senior Muslim education activist told Clarion India: “Some people cannot accept that Muslims have constitutional rights. That is why such cases are filed again and again to trouble our institutions.”
The petition, filed under Article 32, demanded that the 25% reservation for poor children under Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act should also apply to minority schools. The petitioner claimed that without this, many children were losing their right to free and compulsory education.
He also alleged that minority institutions were admitting general category students “on a commercial basis” and avoiding their responsibility towards poor children.
But the judges dismissed these claims. The bench said the issues were already settled and could not be brought back in this manner.
A Madrasa teacher in Delhi reacted by saying, “The Supreme Court has once again protected our rights. Some people keep trying to interfere with our madrasas because they have problems with the education of Muslims.”
This is not the first time someone tried to interfere with minority schools. In October, another bench of the Supreme Court had to deal with a different PIL that demanded making the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) compulsory for all schools, including minority institutions.
Muslim groups said repeated petitions showed a pattern of attempts by certain Hindutva elements to weaken protections given to minority schools.
A Muslim parent whose children study in a madrasa said, “Why do they always target our institutions? Indian Muslims follow the law and the Constitution. We only want our children to learn in peace.”
By imposing a fine of ₹1 lakh, the Supreme Court has given a strong message that it will not entertain attempts to disturb minority rights or bring back settled issues through misleading petitions.
The bench ended the hearing with a sharp remark: “Do not try to misuse the court to raise issues that have already been closed.”
For many Indian Muslims, the order brought relief and a sense of dignity. The judgment shows that despite pressure from some groups the judiciary still stands firm in protecting the rights given to minorities under the Constitution.
