SC stays ban on hijab by Mumbai college

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday passed an interim order staying the instruction passed by a Mumbai college banning sporting of hijab, veil, stole, cap, etc. on the academic campus.

Posting the matter for further hearing in the week commencing from November 18, a Bench presided over by Justice Sanjiv Khanna ordered an interim stay and expressed hope that its interim order would not be misused by anybody.

However, the Bench, also comprising Justice PV Sanjay Kumar, stressed that no religious activities should be permitted on college premises and burqa cannot be worn by girls inside the classroom.

On Thursday, Chief Justice of India (CJI), DY Chandrachud was apprised by the counsel representing Muslim students that they would not be allowed to appear for the college examination and their plea required an urgent hearing.

At this, CJI Chandrachud told the petitioners’ counsel that the apex court would hear the matter on August 9.

Earlier, a Division Bench comprising Justice AS Chandurkar and Justice Rajesh Patil of the Bombay High Court, on June 26, dismissed Muslim students’ plea saying they were not inclined to interfere with the decision of the Chembur Trombay Education Society’s (CTES) NG Acharya & DK Marathe College.

The girls, students of SYBSc and TYBSc (Computer Science) programmes for the last two years, had termed the CTES management’s decision as "arbitrary, unreasonable, bad in law and perverse" in their petition.

The petitioners contended that the new dress code imposed by the college violated their Fundamental Rights to privacy, dignity and religious freedom.

"The prohibition on wearing a hijab rather leads to indirect discrimination against female Muslim students regardless of the motive behind the impugned instruction as the outcome is prejudicial and discriminatory – the same violates Article 14 of the Constitution," said the Special Leave Petition filed before the apex court through advocate Abiha Zaidi.

The prohibition on wearing a hijab has resulted in female Muslim students being stigmatised and not being able to attend classes – this also has resulted in victimisation and indirect discrimination under the guise of enforcing discipline, it added.

Pertinently, a two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court, in October 2022, gave a split verdict on petitions challenging the validity of the ban on hijab worn by some Muslim girl students in classrooms of pre-university colleges in Karnataka and directed that the matter be posted before the CJI, who is the Master of Roster, for setting up a larger Bench.