The Bombay High Court rejected a plea filed by nine Muslim students of a Mumbai college challenging the ban on hijabs, veils, stoles, caps, etc, on the premises.
A division bench comprising Justice AS Chandurkar and Justice Rajesh Patil dismissed the plea saying they were not inclined to interfere in the decision taken by the Chembur Trombay Education Society (CTES)’s NG Acharya and DK Marathe College in Chembur (East).
“In our view, the dress code as prescribed cannot be held to violate the petitioners’ rights claimed under Article 19(1) (a) and Article 25 of the Constitution of India,” the judges said.
The students pursuing an undergraduate degree in Computer Science for the past two years termed the CTES management’s decision “arbitrary, unreasonable, bad in law and perverse” in their petition, and are likely to challenge the High Court verdict in the Supreme Court.
The students through their lawyer Altaf Khan contended that the new dress code imposed by the college violated their fundamental rights to privacy, dignity, and religious freedom.
Mr Khan said he would consult the students and their parents before moving the top court against the High Court order.
Besides approaching the High Court, the girls had also written to the University of Mumbai, the University Grants Commission, the Vice-Chancellor, and the Chancellor seeking their intervention.
Senior Advocate Anil Anturkar representing the college argued that the dress code was not targeted at only Muslims but was uniformly applicable to all religious symbols.
He pointed out that the college policy is to prevent the open display of religious symbols unless they are essential under the fundamental right to religion such as the turban for the Sikhs.
Mr Anturkar also challenged Mr Khan to prove his contentions that wearing a hijab is an essential religious practice in Islam and said the students should concentrate on their studies instead of displaying such religious symbols.
He said that the petitioner students were aware of the college’s dress code when they took admission, and in the future, if someone flaunts other religious symbols like a mace or a saffron attire, the college would also object to it.
Reacting to the High Court verdict, Samajwadi Party state president Abu Asim Azmi said that the Constitution allows everyone in the country to follow their religion and expressed the hope that the Supreme Court will permit the students to wear hijab in schools and colleges.
