India’s Supreme Court has allowed the government to control the appointment of teachers in educational institutions run by religious minorities, a ruling Church leaders say violates their right to manage such institutions.

The country’s top court on Jan. 6 upheld a West Bengal State law that allowed a government commission to screen candidates to be appointed as teachers in government-funded madrasas, Muslim religious schools.

“The order definitely will have a bearing in the administration of Church-run education institutions too,” says Salesian Father Joseph Manipadam, secretary to the Indian Catholic bishops office for education and culture.

The verdict came while deciding on an appeal challenging a provision in the West Bengal Madrasa Service Commission Act 2008, which said the government panel could screen teachers to be appointed to state-aided Madrasas.

Madrasas were declared minority education institutions in West Bengal State, just as thousands of Christian schools in the country. The Indian Constitution allows religious and linguistic minorities to establish and manage educational institutions of their choice to help with the social advancement of their people.

The Catholic Church runs some 54,000 educational institutions in the country and at least half of them get financial aid from the state. With this order, “our right to administer our institution is curtailed. Freedom to appoint teachers is also part of the administration,” Father Manipadam told UCA News on Jan. 9, three days after the top court pronounced.

The provisions were challenged in 2013 before the West Bengal State’s Calcutta High Court on the grounds that they violated the rights of minority institutions. The single-judge bench of the High Court allowed the challenge and found the provisions to be unconstitutional.