The Supreme Court of India dismissed a petition by around 350 teachers and non-teaching staff of recognised madrasas in West Bengal seeking salaries under the state’s grant-in-aid scheme. The Court declined to grant the relief sought by the petitioners.
The Supreme Court rejected a petition filed by approximately 350 teachers and non-teaching employees working in recognised madrasas in West Bengal, who sought payment of salaries under the state’s grant-in-aid programme.
Days after coming to power in the state, the Suvendu Adhikari-led government scrapped this assistance for the groups, citing religious categorisation.
This effectively put an end to the religion-based schemes that were implemented during the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC administration.
The BJP government has also discontinued the existing state OBC list, in line with a Calcutta High Court ruling, and said it will form a committee to determine eligibility for quota benefits.
In addition, the state administration recently issued a fresh order directing inspections of unaided madrasas functioning across 12 districts. Authorities concerned have been asked to submit their reports by July 21. An official said the inspection process is expected to be completed by July 15.
As per the July 8 directive from the State Minority Affairs and Madrasa Education Department, inspecting selected unaided madrasas both recognised and unrecognised is part of an exercise to assess their operation and confirm compliance with the government’s educational framework and policy priorities.
A senior government official said,
“ The inspections are being undertaken in the interest of student welfare, proper implementation of educational schemes, institutional planning and verification of the functioning of unaided institutions,”
Senior officials from the madrasa department, along with other government agencies, have been assigned district-wise responsibilities for the inspections.
The districts included in the exercise are Cooch Behar, North Dinajpur, Malda, Murshidabad, Birbhum, West Midnapore, East Midnapore, Nadia, Hooghly, Howrah, North 24 Parganas, and South 24 Parganas.
Unaided madrasas in Bengal operate without receiving government financial support. They may be private institutions, recognised madrasas, or unrecognised Khariji madrasas. Khariji madrasas, run and maintained by individuals, communities, or private organisations, are estimated to number well over 1,000 across the state, though no official figure is currently available.
The case related to more than 40 writ petitions filed by roughly 361 individuals who claimed they had been appointed as teachers or non-teaching staff in various madrasas across West Bengal. The petitions were submitted under Article 32 of the Constitution.
The controversy centres on the West Bengal Madrasah Service Commission Act, 2008, which established a statutory commission tasked with recommending appointments for teachers in recognised madrasas.
In 2014, a single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court invalidated the Act. This ruling was subsequently upheld by a Division Bench in 2015.