NEW DELHI, JULY 13, 2026: The Supreme Court of India on Monday dismissed a batch of over 40 writ petitions filed by 361 teachers and non-teaching staff who sought government salaries under the Grants-in-Aid Scheme for their appointments in various West Bengal Madrasahs.
A bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice AG Masih ruled that the petitions lacked merit, noting that even a screened sample of 13 representative cases failed to persuade the court of any legitimate appointment authority. The petitioners had argued that they were regularly appointed during a period when the West Bengal Madrasah Service Commission Act of 2008 was temporarily declared unconstitutional by the Calcutta High Court.
The legal dispute traces back to the fluctuating constitutional validity of the 2008 Act, which was initially struck down by the High Court but subsequently upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court in the 2020 landmark case SK. Mohd Rafique v. Managing Committee, Contai Rahamania High Madrasah.
Following a subsequent contempt petition, the apex court had constituted a committee in February 2023 to examine individual appointments made in the interim period. After the committee spurned their claims, the staff challenged the decision through an Article 32 petition. The Supreme Court ultimately concluded that the appointments failed to meet essential validation criteria—including proper recognition by the West Bengal Board of Madrasah Education and approval from validly constituted Managing Committees—leading to the final dismissal of all petitions.