Students move SC challenging Bombay HC verdict upholding Chembur college dress code banning hijab

“The object behind issuing the same is that the dress of a student should not reveal his/her religion, which is a step towards ensuring that the students focus on gaining knowledge and education which is in their larger interest,” it had added.

The dress code, which was to come into effect in the academic year beginning in June, stipulated that burqas, niqabs, hijabs, or any religious identifiers such as badges, caps, or stoles would not be permitted inside the college. Only full or half shirts and trousers are prescribed for boys, while girls can wear “any Indian/western non-revealing dress” on the college campus.

In a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed in the Supreme Court through advocates Hamza Lakdawala and Abiha Zaidi, three BSc Computer Science students of the college claimed that the high court failed to consider that the college issued the impugned instruction without the authority of law.

The students’ appeal also stated that the high court took an “incorrect” view that the object behind the impugned Instruction is to discourage discrimination on any count. “In fact, the impugned instruction has led to severe discrimination and marginalisation of female Muslim students,” the petitioners claimed.

The plea stated that the Justice Chandurkar-led bench had relied on past high court judgments to “wrongly observe that wearing of a hijab, nakab, burkha, etc. is not an essential practice in Islam and is thus not protected under Article 25 of the Constitution.”

The students submitted that while holding that “an individual could not seek imposition of his/her right against the larger right of institution”, the Bombay High Court had erred in relying on the judgment of the full bench of the Karnataka High Court in the hijab ban case. The plea said the challenge to the said Karnataka HC judgment before the Supreme Court resulted in a split verdict and now a reference to a larger bench on the issue is pending in the apex court.

The appeal by students further claimed that the impugned instruction violated the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2012, which “do not permit broad and overarching regulation of students’ conduct/dress code or personal and religious choices.”

The plea sought direction to quash and set aside the impugned instructions and pending hearing of SLP, it sought a stay on the same, failing which, the students claimed “their lives and careers will be destroyed.”

The lawyer mentioned the plea before a bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud on Tuesday for an urgent hearing saying unit tests in college are likely to commence on August 7. CJI Chandrachud said he had already assigned a bench to hear the plea and the same will be listed soon.