New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on pleas challenging the Allahabad High Court judgement, which declared the 2004 Uttar Pradesh law on madrasas as unconstitutional on the ground of it being violative of the principle of secularism.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra heard a battery of lawyers on behalf of eight petitioners besides Additional Solicitor General K M Natraj for the Uttar Pradesh government for almost two days before reserving the verdict.

Commencing the final arguments on the pleas against the verdict, the bench, on Monday heard senior lawyers including Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Salman Khurshid and Menaka Guruswamy for the petitioners.

On Tuesday, the top court also heard senior advocates including Mukul Rohatgi, P Chidambaram and Guru Krishna Kumar for various litigants.

On March 22, the Allahabad High Court had declared the Act as "unconstitutional" and violative of the principle of secularism, and asked the state government to accommodate madrasa students in the formal schooling system.

On April 5, the CJI-led bench had provided a breather to about 17 lakh madrasa students by staying the verdict of the High Court scrapping the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004.

The top court heard about eight petitions, including the lead one filed by Anjum Kadari against the high court verdict.

New Delhi, Nov 25: Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Monday dismissed as "rumours" talk of his resignation following the assembly polls debacle and stressed on "collective accountability" for the defeat.

Patole made the remarks after meeting Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge during which he conveyed that the result had not reflected the sentiments of the people of Maharashtra.

"Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other national and state leaders were leading Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) from the forefront during the assembly polls. So, we were sure that the trends were in favour of Maha Vikas Aghadi, even the citizens believed that," the Maharashtra Congress chief said.

"If I talk about Nanded, the Lok Sabha bypolls and assembly elections were held on the same day. In Lok Sabha bypolls, our candidate was winning in six assembly seats, whereas, in the assembly elections, we are not winning even a single seat," he said, adding that there cannot be such a "huge difference".

This is the sentiment among the people also and they have stated that this government in Maharashtra was not being formed on their votes, he claimed.

"So, I spoke to Mallikarjun Kharge on this," he added.

Asked whether he had offered to resign or the party had asked for his resignation after the Maharashtra assembly polls defeat, Patole said, "These are all rumours and there is no truth in them. There is collective accountability."

Patole also said he will meet Rahul Gandhi in a day or two and discuss all issues.

"Democracy is being finished. We have discussed that... there was no talk of resignation," he said.

The MVA alliance, comprising the Congress, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and Shiv Sena (UBT), was restrained to 46 seats by the Mahayuti that reaped a rich harvest of 230 seats in the 288-member House.