The Court determined that the sealing order was issued without conducting a competent investigation or gathering enough evidence to back up the accusations levelled against them.
The order to seal two seminaries (Madarasa) given by the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) of Kishtwar was recently overturned by the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, which is a landmark decision.
The sealing order, according to the Court, was granted without a competent investigation or enough evidence to substantiate the accusations brought against them. Justice Sanjeev Kumar presided over the “Raj Ali and others Vs Union of India and others” case, according to Bar and Bench.
The decision to shut the two seminaries was made without giving the management a chance to give their side of the story, which is against the natural justice principles, it was discovered following the court’s ruling.
The Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, had already declared the Maulana Ali Miyan Educational Trust, Bathindi, to be anti-national and anti-social on June 14, 2023. The ADC’s order had connected the sealed Madarsas to this organisation.
Later, it was made clear that the two in issue seminaries were unrelated to this specific Trust. The Court took notice of the fact that the sealing order was made without holding a fair hearing or opening an investigation into the situation.
The Court concluded that the ADC’s application of the Divisional Commissioner’s order to shut down or take control of these seminaries was not justifiable in the absence of convincing evidence of their affiliation with the Maulana Ali Miyan Educational Trust.
In order to emphasise that the Divisional Commissioner’s order from June 14, 2023 should only apply to the seminaries run by the Maulana Ali Miyan Educational Trust in Bathindi and should not be universally applied to all legitimate seminaries in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the Court quashed the sealing order pertaining to the two seminaries.
However, the Court made it clear that authorities are allowed to take necessary measures if any seminary is discovered to be functioning illegally after conducting a thorough inquiry or investigation. However, the Court emphasised that petitioners must be given ample notice and a chance for a fair hearing before any unfavourable rulings that are against their interests are made.
Senior Additional Advocate General Monika Kohli spoke on behalf of the Central government and other parties engaged in the case, while Senior Advocate Gagan Basotra, Sahil Gupta, and Nadeem Bhat defended the people in charge of the seminaries.
