Government order to take over madrassas in Kishtwar overturned by J&K High Court

A government order to take over several madrassas in the Kishtwar district has been overturned by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court because it cannot be applied uniformly to all institutions of this type in the Union Territory, according to an official ruling from last year.

After hearing a petition that contested a July 3 order of the Kishtwar additional deputy commissioner, Justice Sanjeev Kumar last week issued a three-page order requiring the management of the Charitable Educational Trust to immediately turn over possession of their madrassas (Islamic seminaries) to the administration.

The petitioners notified the court that the impugned order broke the natural justice standards because they weren’t given a chance to be heard.

Furthermore, they claimed that the trust had no connections to the Maulana Ali Miyan Educational Trust, Bathindi, whose operations were halted on June 14 of last year at the request of the Jammu divisional commissioner due to misappropriation of funds from international NGOs.

The government’s attorney affirmed that the petitioners’ madrassas are distinct from those operated by the Maulana Ali Miyan Educational Trust.

However, he argued that there is an ongoing investigation into the illegitimate funding of these seminaries, and the respondents are free to take action against any such madrassas found to be engaged in anti-national or anti-social activities as well as those who are unable to identify their funding source.

‘In view of the above, this petition is allowed by holding that the order of the divisional commissioner, Jammu, is applicable only to the madrassas run by the Maulana Ali Miyan Educational Trust and cannot be universally applied to all madrasas being run legitimately in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir,’ the court said, quashing the impugned order of the Kishtwar additional deputy commissioner.

The court also made it clear that the government is free to take appropriate action after notifying and giving an adequate opportunity for hearing in the event that it becomes apparent during any investigation that the madrassas being run by the petitioners or others are operating in violation of the law.