The Kerala High Court questioned Pinarayi Vijayan-led state government why they are financing a religious activity by providing pension to madrasa teachers.
In 2019, the Kerala Assembly passed the Kerala Madrasa Teachers Welfare Fund Bill, 2019, making the madrasa teachers across the state entitled to get a pension in the Rs 1500-7500 range.
However, Manoj, secretary of Citizen Organisation for Democracy, Equality, Tranquility, and Secularism, filed a plea in the High Court against the government decision, questioning why public money is being used in funding a particular religious activity.
His counsel, C Rajendran, said in madrasas knowledge about the Quran and other textbooks pertaining to Islam is given and the Kerala government is spending huge amounts on them which is unconstitutional and against the principles of secularism enshrined in the Constitution.
Hearing the petition, a division bench comprising Justice A Muhamed Mustaque and Justice Kauser Edappagath issued the order on the petition and asked the Kerala government to clarify whether it has contributed to the Kerala Madrasa Teachers’ Welfare Fund.
The order comes days after the Kerala high court quashed the government’s decisios to provide scholarships to Muslims and Latin Catholics/converted Christians in the 80:20 ratio.
The court had slammed the state government for not treating minorities equally
