Supreme Court dismisses 360 Bengal madrassa staff claims

The Supreme Court of India has dismissed petitions from approximately 360 teaching and non-teaching staff of madrassas in West Bengal who were seeking regularization and payment of salaries under a state government grant-in-aid scheme. The judgment was delivered on Monday, July 13, 2026, by a bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and A.G. Masih.

The bench examined the cases of 13 representative petitioners out of the total group to determine if any merited relief. In its ruling, the court stated that none of the scrutinized cases were found to have merit, leading to the dismissal of all related petitions. The justices explained they had proceeded on the basis that if any one of the 13 petitioners had persuaded the court, they would have examined the remaining cases, but that no such case was made out.

The legal dispute has a long history, centering on the West Bengal Madrasah Service Commission Act of 2008. This legislation created a statutory commission to recommend teacher appointments in recognized madrassas. However, the Calcutta High Court struck down the Act in 2014, a decision upheld by its division bench in 2015. The Supreme Court stayed that verdict in March 2016 and...