Supreme Court to review Mumbai Hijab ban after Bombay High Court upholds dress code restrictions

The Supreme Court of India has agreed to list a plea challenging the Bombay High Court's decision that upheld a Mumbai college's ban on wearing hijabs, burqas, and naqabs on campus.

On June 26, 2024, the Bombay High Court had declined to interfere with the Chembur Trombay Education Society's N G Acharya and D K Marathe College's decision, arguing that such a dress code does not infringe upon students' fundamental rights. The court justified the ban by stating that maintaining discipline through a dress code falls under the college's right to "establish and administer an educational institution."

A bench of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra has noted the urgency of the appeal, especially with unit tests scheduled to begin at the college soon. The court has assigned a bench to hear the matter and will list it shortly.

Lawyer Abiha Zaidi, representing petitioners including Zainab Abdul Qayyum, emphasized the need for an urgent hearing due to the impending exams.

The Supreme Court had previously delivered conflicting verdicts on similar issues. On October 13, 2022, a two-judge bench faced a split decision regarding a hijab ban in Karnataka schools. Justice Hemant Gupta, now retired, had upheld the ban, while Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia had ruled that no such restrictions should be placed on wearing hijabs in schools and colleges.

In the current Mumbai case, the Bombay High Court had dismissed arguments that the dress code infringed upon fundamental rights. The petitioners, second and third-year science students, contended that the ban violated their rights to practice their religion, privacy, and choice.

The high court, however, rejected these claims, stating that the dress code did not contravene Articles 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech and expression) and 25 (freedom to practice religion) of the Constitution. It also found no evidence that wearing the hijab, naqabs, or burqas was an essential religious practice. The court viewed the dress code as a measure to maintain discipline, protected under Articles 19(1)(g) (right to practice any profession or run trade/business) and 26 (freedom to manage religious affairs) of the Constitution.

The court clarified that the dress code was enforced only within the college premises and did not affect the petitioners' freedom of expression outside the campus.


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