Plea In Supreme Court Challenges Bombay HC Verdict Upholding Hijab Ban In Mumbai College
LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK
6 Aug 2024 5:47 AM GMT
A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court's judgment upholding the ban imposed in a private college in Mumbai on the wearing of hijab, nakab, burkha, stole, cap, etc., by students on campus.
When the petition was mentioned before the Chief Justice of India on Tuesday for urgent listing, CJI DY Chandrachud said that he has already assigned a bench for the matter and that it would be listed soon in the coming days.
The petitioners' counsel cited urgency saying that unit tests will take place soon.
It was on June 26 that the Bombay High Court dismissed the petitions filed by nine female students challenging the dress code prescribed by the authorities of the NG Acharya & DK Marathe College , prohibiting students from wearing hijab, nakab, burkha, stole, cap, etc., on campus.
A division bench of Justice AS Chandurkar and Justice Rajesh S Patil observed –
“The object behind prescribing the dress code is evident from the Instructions since they state that the intention is that a student's religion ought not to be revealed. It is in larger academic interest of the students as well as for the administration and discipline of the College that this object is achieved. This is for the reason that students are expected to attend the educational institution to receive appropriate instructions for advancement of their academic careers. The insistence for following the dress code is within the college premises and the petitioners' freedom of choice and expression is not otherwise affected.”
The court referred to the Full Bench decision of the Karnataka High Court in Resham v. State of Karnataka, which upheld a government order prescribing a dress code excluding hijabs.
“We are in respectful agreement with the view expressed by the Full Bench that prescription of a dress code is intended to achieve uniformity amongst students in the school/college so as to maintain discipline and avoid disclosure of one's religion”, the High Court stated.
Challenge to this Karnataka HC judgment is pending before the Supreme Court after a division bench delivered a split verdict in October 2022.
The petitioners, pursuing their second and third-year undergraduate courses challenged the dress code on the ground that restriction on hijab, nakab, burka, stole, caps etc. in the campus violates their fundamental rights. Under the impugned dress code, the dress of the students is expected to be formal and decent and should not reveal the religion of any student.
The students contended that the dress code was arbitrary and discriminatory, infringing upon their right to choose their attire, their right to privacy, and right to expression under Article 19(1)(a) and their right to freedom of religion under Article 25 of the Constitution.
The Special Leave Petition filed in Supreme Court is drafted by Advocate Hamza Lakdawala and filed through Advocate Abiha Zaidi.
