Move comes after Apex court issues stay on policy; ban on burqa, niqab stays
The NG Acharya and DK Marathe College of Arts, Science and Commerce. File pic
NG Acharya and DK Marathe College has modified its policy concerning the wearing of hijabs on campus. This came in the wake of a Supreme Court stay on the college’s previous directive, which barred students from wearing hijabs, burqas, or other faith-related attire or symbols. While the hijab is now allowed inside the college, run by the Chembur Trombay Education Society, restrictions on burqas and niqabs remain.
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mid-day spoke with students from the college following the apex court’s decision on August 9, which halted the enforcement of the policy that prohibited Muslim women from wearing hijabs, burqas and niqabs on campus grounds until the next hearing. “Yes, it is true, after the Supreme Court’s stay, the administration has allowed us to wear the hijab inside the college,” said a student.
The NG Acharya and DK Marathe College. File pic
“Even after the Supreme Court’s stayed the May 1 college circular imposing a dress code policy, we are not allowed to wear niqabs and burqas on campus. They should allow us to wear burqa and niqab, too, as these garments are also mentioned in the circular.”
Background of case
The students’ appeal and the subsequent stay highlight ongoing debates around educational policies and religious freedoms in India, particularly concerning attire that some institutions consider as contravening their dress codes. The Supreme Court’s intervention came after a group of students, led by Zainab Abdul Qayyum Choudhary, challenged a Bombay High Court ruling on June 27, which had earlier upheld the college’s dress code policy.
The college administration has been arguing that the dress code applies to all students, across religious and community lines. The management has since maintained that the objective behind the rules was not to reveal students’ religion, and they relied on a 2022 Karnataka High Court judgment, which stated that donning the hijab or niqab was “not an essential religious practice” for women professing Islam. The college also said that this was an internal matter and a part of its right to maintain discipline.
The Supreme Court, in its review, questioned whether the college had recognised the religious diversity of the country only recently and has scheduled further hearings for November 2024. Before this, on June 27, the Bombay High Court held that the decision was “in larger academic interest”. The court also stated that since the instructions issued by the college were “applicable to all students irrespective of their caste, creed, religion or language”, they did not violate UGC guidelines.
Following the high court's verdict in June favouring the college’s dress code, six of the nine girl students who moved court against the management for not allowing burqas, hijabs and niqabs on campus had left the college and some of them secured admission to another college in Bandra. Meanwhile, three of the nine students remain enrolled but have not been attending lectures.
The circular, dated May 1, 2024, stated that for the academic year starting June 2024, a dress code applies to all students. And that students wear only “formal” and “decent” dress in college. The circular further restricted burqa, niqabs, hijabs or any part of dress which reveals “religion like badge, cap, stole inside the campus and has to be removed as soon as a student enters the college, by going to the common room”.
Principal Speak
Meanwhile, the principal of the college clarified the new adjustments, stating that while students are now allowed to wear hijabs, the ban on burqas, niqabs or any attire that covers the face will remain in effect. “As per the apex court's directions, we are allowing students to wear a hijab inside the college, but not a burqa, niqab or anything that masks faces. To enforce the dress code mentioned in the circular we have been doing random checks every week. If a student is found wearing indecent clothes such as torn jeans, jerseys and shorts on college premises, we confiscate their mobile phones and college ID cards,” Dr Vidyagauri Lele, the principal of the college, told mid-day.
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