Secularism means live and let live, mainstreaming answer to ghettoisation: SC in madrasa case
New Delhi, Oct 22: Observing secularism means to "live and let live", the Supreme Court on Tuesday said regulating madrasas was in the national interest as several hundred years of the nation’s composite culture could not be wished away by creating silos for minorities.
The observations came from a bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra during the day-long hearing on the pleas challenging the Allahabad High Court judgement, which declared the 2004 Uttar Pradesh law on madrasas as unconstitutional saying it was violative of the principle of secularism.
"The judgement is reserved," the bench said at the completion of the arguments.
At the outset, the Uttar Pradesh government, in response to a query of the bench, said it stands by the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004 and was of the view that the Allahabad High Court should not have held the entire law as unconstitutional.
Agreeing to the submissions of senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for litigants opposed to the HC verdict, the CJI said, "Secularism means - live and let live."
Referring to the composite national culture, the CJI asked the state government, "Is it not in our national interest that you regulate the madrasas?"
"You cannot wish away several hundred years of history of this nation like this. Suppose, we uphold the high court order and the parents of the children still send them to madrasas then it will just be a silo without any legislative intervention…mainstreaming is the answer to ghettoisation," the bench said.
It said let us preserve India as a melting pot of cultures and religions. "Ultimately we have to see it through the broad sweep of the country. Religious instructions are there not just for Muslims. It is there for Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, etc. The country ought to be a melting pot of cultures, civilisations, and religions. Let us preserve it that way. In fact, the answer to ghettoisation is to allow people to come to the mainstream and to allow them to come together. Otherwise, what we essentially would be doing is to keep them in silos," the CJI said.
The bench said Article 28(3) of the Constitution provides that a student can voluntarily obtain religious instructions with the only bar there should be no compulsion.
It asked as to what was wrong with the law recognising madrasas imparting religious instructions and mandating they should follow certain basic standards and striking down the entire law meant such institutions would remain unregulated.
The bench highlighted that imparting religious instructions was not limited to Muslims only and said if there was an institute training Buddhist monks, could the state ask it to provide some secular education also.
"This is the ethos of our country. Remember, what you are arguing in the context of Islam will apply across all religions in India right from Ved pathshalas to institutions training Buddhist monks, Jain priests, etc.," the CJI said.
The bench said it should not be misunderstood as it was equally concerned that the students of madrasas should also get quality education.
However, quashing the entire law was like throwing out the baby with the bathwater, it said, adding that religious instructions were never an anathema in the country.
Senior lawyer Guru Krishna Kumar said madrasa education would not enable students to be at par with the mainstream students.
"Why do you want them to be at par? You cannot compel them to be at par," the bench said.
Earlier in the day, the bench posed a specific query to Additional Solicitor General K M Natraj, appearing for the state government, on whether he stood by the validity of the law as it provided the authority to regulate madrasas as well.
"Are you standing by the validity of the Act," the CJI asked the law officer when he commenced his submissions on a batch of pleas against the high court verdict.
Natraj said, "I support the validity of the Act. Since, the constitutionality (of the law) has been struck down, we want to say something. We are defending the legislation. The state did not file a SLP (special leave petition)."
The state government filed its response in the high court standing by the Act and it cannot deviate from the stand, the law officer added. The Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004 regulates the operation of madrasas in the state and was framed to ensure quality education, while adhering to constitutional principles, in such institutions.
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 eight petitions, including the lead one filed by Anjum Kadari against the high court verdict.
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UP: Oxygen cylinder explodes; ailing woman, pregnant daughter among 6 of family dead
Bulandshahr (UP), Oct 22: An oxygen cylinder kept to aid in the care of an ailing woman exploded in a house in Bulandshahr's Sikandrabad area, killing her and five members of her family, including her husband and her three-year-old granddaughter.
The tragedy that snuffed out the lives of 45-year-old Rukhsana, who had recently been discharged from hospital, her husband Riyazuddin, their three children and granddaughter took place on Monday night. Their two-storey home, which housed 19 members of the family, collapsed partially due to the blast.
Rukhsana's daughter Tamannah who lost her life in the accident was nine-month pregnant, her husband Rizwan said.
Citing the postmortem report of the six deceased, Chief Medical Officer of Bulandshahr Dr Vinay Kumar Singh said one of the women was pregnant.
The last rites of the six deceased were held on Tuesday afternoon.
When the bodies were brought back home today after the postmortem, each covered in a shroud, cries of anguish filled the air as hundreds of people gathered outside the family residence in Ashapuri Colony to share their condolences.
District Magistrate of Bulandshahr Chandra Prakash Singh said, "A cylinder blast occurred in the Ashapuri colony of Sikandrabad between 8.30 pm and 9 pm leading to the collapse of the entire house."
Two or three others suffered injuries in the incident and the rest were safe, according to officials.
Riyazuddin (50), his wife Rukhsana (45), their sons Aas Mohammed (26), Salman (16), daughter Tamannah (24) and her child Hibza (3) died due to the blast.
"She (Tamannah) had asked me to take her back home after two days," Rizwan said. He spoke to her last around 5 pm, he said tearfully.
"Now, I'm left with the pain of losing my mother-in-law, father-in-law, brothers-in-law, wife and daughter all at once," Rizwan said.
Talking to PTI Videos, neighbours and first responders described the chaos that unfolded after the explosion.
Asif, who has lived next door for 18 years, said, "I heard a sound that felt like something had exploded. I ran outside and saw locals rushing to help. It was chaos, with people inside the house needing to be pulled out."
The explosion created a red flash, followed by darkness in the house. We had to use our mobile phone torches to navigate the thick dust while trying to rescue anyone trapped inside," another neighbour said.
NDRF officer Neeraj Singh, who oversaw the on-ground rescue and relief operations, said the relief work by local police and administration had already started at the site by the time his force reached.
Surface victims had been moved to safety when the NDRF arrived. The NDRF's operations lasted about three hours, Neeraj Singh said.
"We used methods of canine search, technical search, physical search, etc. as per our procedures to make sure no live victim was left behind in the rubble until the civil authorities called off the operations," Singh told PTI Videos.
Personnel of the NDRF, fire brigade, police, medical and the local administration were involved in the rescue work, Additional Director General of Police, Meerut Zone, Dhruva Kant Thakur said.
DM Singh said the iron beams of the roof of the house had to be pried open using gas cutters. An excavator was also used to clear the debris, he said.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took immediate cognisance of the incident and directed officials to visit the spot and ensure good treatment to the injured, the DM said.
Senior Superintendent of Police of Bulandshahr Shlok Kumar told PTI that the rescue operation was completed on Tuesday morning. The cylinder, its nozzle, etc. have been recovered from the debris, he said.
