JUDGMENT :

Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J.

Since common questions of law and fact are involved in these writ petitions, therefore, these are being heard and decided together by this common judgment. However, for the sake of brevity, facts of Writ Petition (M/S) No. 835 of 2025 alone are being considered and discussed here.

2. Writ Petition (M/S) No. 835 of 2025 is filed by Madarsa Inamul Ulum Society, which runs a Maktab at Vikasnagar in District Dehradun since 2020. By means of this writ petition, petitioner has sought the following relief:

“(I) To issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus commanding the respondents to permanently unseal the premises of the petitioner-society, situated at Khata no. 422, Khasra no. 3866 ka, Rasoolpur (Canal Bypass Road), Tehsil Vikasnagar, District Dehradun, which have been illegally sealed by the respondents.”

3. The grievance of petitioners in these petitions is that the premises in which they were running Maktab, were sealed by the district level authorities without prior notice or without any reason or justification, whatsoever. They further contend that sealing was done by the authorities in the absence of any order by a statutory authority. Learned Counsels for the petitioners submit that right to run a Maktab, where students learn Quran recitation, grammar and ethics, is a constitutionally protected right and the interference made by the state authorities with the said right of the petitioners is unsustainable in the eyes of law.

4. A letter, issued by Deputy Registrar, Uttarkakhand Madarsa Education Board to Secretary, Minority Welfare Department on 4.3.2025, is enclosed as Annexure-8 to the writ petition. From the said letter, it is revealed that there are two category of Islamic schools, namely, (i) Maktab, where only religious teachings are imparted to students and (ii) Madarsa, where in addition to religious teachings, students are prepared for appearing in different examinations e.g. Tahataniya/Fauquania/Munshi/Maulvi. It is further revealed from the letter that there are 416 Madarsa, which are registered with Uttarakhand Madarsa Education Board (for short, ‘Madarsa Board’) and about 88 institutions had applied to Madarsa Board for registration as on 4.3.2025. In para 3 of the letter, however, it is mentioned that a Madarsa, which is not registered with Madarsa Board, falls in the category of illegal Madarsa.

5. Learned State Counsel, on instructions, submits that only such institutions, which are registered and recognized by Madarsa Board alone can use the expression ‘Madarsa’ in their name; he submits that in Uttarakhand, in recent past, there has been mushrooming growth of institutions, which claim to be Madarsa but are not recognized by Madarsa Board; he submits that due to wrongful use of the expression ‘Madarsa’ by the institutions, which are imparting religious teachings only, the children and parents belonging to marginalized sections are getting confused and they are taking admission in such institutions with the false hope that the education received by them in such institutions will make them eligible for employment under the government or in the corporate sector. He further submits that the education imparted by the institutions, which are not registered with the Madarsa Board will not lead them anywhere, therefore the state authorities had to intervene to ensure that gullible persons from marginalized sections of the society are not misled by the false impression created by unregistered and unrecognized institutions.

6. It is not in dispute that State Legislature has enacted The Uttarakhand Madarsa Education Board Act 2016. Section 2(f) of the said Act defines “institution” and 2(h) of the Act defines