SC to hear plea of students against Bombay HC verdict upholding ban on hijab

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it has ordered listing of a plea challenging the verdict of the Bombay High Court which had upheld a decision of a Mumbai college to impose a ban on wearing of hijab burqa and naqab inside the campusThe high court had on June 26 refused to interfere with the decision of the Chembur Trombay Education Societys N G Acharya and D K Marathe College imposing the ban saying such rules do not violate students fundamental rightsIt had said a dress code is meant to maintain discipline which is part of the colleges fundamental right to establish and administer an educational institutionTaking note of submission seeking urgent listing of the appeal a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said it has already assigned a bench for the matter and that it would be listed soonLawyer Abiha Zaidi appearing for petitioners including Zainab Abdul Qayyum sought urgent hearing saying the unit tests in the college are likely to commence on WednesdayThe top court is yet to conclusively decide the legality of such diktats issued by educational institutionsA twojudge bench of the top court on October 13 2022 had delivered opposing verdicts in the hijab controversy emanating from Karnataka The then BJPled state government had imposed a ban on wearing the Islamic head covering in schools thereWhile Justice Hemant Gupta since retired had dismissed the appeals challenging the judgement of the Karnataka High Court which had refused to lift the ban Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia had held there shall be no restriction on the wearing of hijab anywhere in the schools and colleges of the stateThe present controversy stems from the decision of a Mumbai college The Bombay High Court trashed the plea against the ban and said the dress code was applicable to all students irrespective of religion or caste The students who were in the second and third year of the science degree course had moved the high court challenging a directive issued by the college imposing a dress code under which students cannot wear a hijab naqab burka stoles caps and badges on the premises The students had claimed it was against their fundamental right to practice religion the right to privacy and right to choiceThe colleges action was arbitrary unreasonable badinlaw and perverse the plea had saidThe high court however had said it could not see how the prescription of dress code by the college violated Articles 191a freedom of speech and expression and 25 freedom to practice religion of the ConstitutionIn our view the dress code as prescribed cannot be held to violate the petitioners rights claimed under Article 191 a and Article 25 of the Constitution of India the HC had saidThe high court had also refused to accept the petitioners contention that wearing a hijab naqab and burqa was an essential practice of their religionExcept for stating that the same constitutes an essential religious practice on the basis of the English translation of KanzulIman and Suman Abu Dawud there is no material placed to uphold the petitioners contention that donning of hijab and naqab is an essential religious practice The contention in that regard therefore fails the HC had saidPrescribing a dress code should be seen as an exercise towards maintaining discipline and the right to do so flows from the fundamental right to establish and administer an educational institution under Article 191g right to practise any profession or run tradebusiness and Article 26 of the Constitution the HC had saidThe dress code was mandatory only within the college premises and the petitioners freedom of choice and expression was not otherwise affected it had saidWith PTI inputs