On Friday the Supreme Court directed a Mumbai college to refrain from enforcing its hijab ban until November 18. The bench asked while staying the circular banning the wearing of hijab, no cap, or badge, ‘Will you ban girls wearing bindi or tilak’.
The court said, ‘There will be a stay of the Circular to the extent that it directs no hijab, cap or badge shall be worn’. The college argued that allowing Muslim female students to wear hijabs could lead to Hindu students wearing saffron shawls, potentially igniting controversy due to political influences.
The Supreme Court was hearing a plea challenging a Bombay High Court verdict upholding a Mumbai college’s decision to ban hijabs, burqas and naqabs inside the campus.
On Thursday a bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took note of the submissions of a lawyer that term exams start today and students from the minority community are bound to face difficulties due to instructions on the dress code.
Lawyer Abiha Zaidi, appearing for the petitioners, including Zainab Abdul Qayyum, had sought an urgent hearing on grounds of the unit tests starting. On June 26, the high court refused to interfere with the decision of the Chembur Trombay Education Society’s N G Acharya and D K Marathe College imposing the ban, stating such rules do not violate the fundamental rights of students.
It said a dress code is meant to maintain discipline and this is part of the college’s fundamental right to establish and administer an educational institution. On October 13, 2022, a two-judge bench of the apex court delivered opposing verdicts in the hijab controversy proceeding from Karnataka. The then BJP-led state government had imposed a ban on wearing the Islamic head covering in schools there.
While Justice Hemant Gupta, since retired, dismissed the appeals challenging the judgement of the Karnataka High Court refusing to lift the ban.
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