The Supreme Court on Tuesday assured that it will post for hearing an appeal against the Bombay High Court order upholding the ban on students wearing burqa, hijab, niqab, stole, or cap on the campus by a Mumbai-based Chembur college.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, heading a bench also comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, said that the date for the hearing will be given after the matter is mentioned for an early hearing.
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“Yes, we will give a date in this case and hear it,” Chief Justice Chandrachud said.
In June, the Bombay High Court dismissed a plea by a group of girl students challenging the ban imposed by a college on wearing hijab, niqab, burqa, stole, caps, or any kind of badges in the classroom. The High Court had said that it was not inclined to interfere with the decision of the college administration.
The girl students were from NG Acharya and DK Marathe College, run by the Chembur Trombay Education Society. The second- and third-year BSc and BSc (Computer Science) students contended before the High Court that the new dress code violated their fundamental rights to privacy, dignity, and religious freedom.
However, the college management told the High Court that the ban applies to all religious symbols and is not targeted at Muslims.
In its order, the High Court said, “We are satisfied that the instructions issued by the College under which a dress code has been prescribed for its students do not suffer from any infirmity to violate provisions of Article 19(1)(a) and Article 25 of the Constitution of India. 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.”
