The Supreme Court of India on Friday issued a partial stay on a circular from a Mumbai college that had prohibited female students from wearing ‘hijab, burqa, cap, and naqab’ on campus. The court emphasized the importance of personal choice in attire for female students and deemed the college’s restrictions unnecessary.
Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar, who were on the bench, directed the Chembur Trombay Education Society, which oversees N G Acharya and D K Marathe College, to respond by November 18.
During the proceedings, the court stated, “Female students must be free to choose their attire; the college cannot enforce such bans.” The judges expressed concern over the college’s selective acknowledgment of religious diversity, questioning why, if student names indicate their religious affiliations, there was no similar prohibition on ’tilak’ and ‘bindi’.
While upholding the need for religious expression, the court specified that burqas would not be allowed inside classrooms and prohibited religious activities on campus. The justices cautioned that their interim order should not be exploited and granted the educational society the right to appeal if they believe the order is being misused.
This ruling came in response to a challenge against a Bombay High Court decision that had supported the college’s ban on religious attire. Petitioners, including Zainab Abdul Qayyum and represented by senior advocate Colin Gonsalves and advocate Abiha Zaidi, had argued that the dress code hindered students from attending their classes.