Not essential to Islam: HC rejects UP student's plea to wear hijab

The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a petition filed by a Muslim student seeking permission to wear a hijab with her prescribed school uniform, observing that wearing a headscarf cannot be established as an essential religious practice of Islam.

A division bench of Justice JJ Munir and Justice Indrajeet Shukla, hearing the plea filed by a Class 11 student of a school in Prayagraj, asserted that wearing the hijab cannot be considered an essential religious practice protected under Article 25 of the Constitution.

The student had approached the court seeking permission to continue wearing a headscarf with her school uniform, arguing that it was part of her religious practice. However, the court refused to accept the argument, saying a mere claim of religious practice was not sufficient to seek protection under the right to religious freedom.

The court noted that no sufficient religious or legal grounds had been placed before it to establish that wearing a headscarf was an obligatory practice in Islam, without which a person's faith would be affected.

"A claim, placing reliance upon Article 25 of the Constitution, cannot be accepted for the sake of mere assertion, without the necessary factual and legal foundation laid for the purpose. A perusal of the writ petition shows that there are no pleadings to that effect by the petitioner, except that she has been doing it since she was a child and ever since she joined the School in Class VI," the bench said.

The High Court also upheld the importance of a uniform dress code in educational institutions. It observed that where a school’s dress policy is uniform, non-discriminatory and intended to maintain discipline and institutional identity, individual students cannot seek changes based on personal preferences.

The student had argued that she had been wearing a headscarf from Class 6 to Class 10 without objection from the school. However, the court observed that the institution’s earlier acceptance did not create a legal right to continue wearing the headscarf if the school subsequently decided to enforce its prescribed uniform policy.

"In the past, the school might not have raised an objection to the petitioner wearing a headscarf when she was reading in the lower classes, either due to lethargy, inaction, lack of will, non-enforcement of the uniform policy, even courtesy or hesitation. But that would not give rise to an estoppel against the school when they decide to enforce a uniform policy, enforcing their dress code," the court underscored.

The bench also referred to previous judgments on the issue and noted that various High Courts had held that wearing a headscarf is not an essential part of Islamic faith for women. The court said there was no reason to take a different view from an earlier judgment of the Karnataka High Court on the matter.

The High Court noted that the Karnataka High Court’s ruling on banning hijabs in schools remains in force, as the Supreme Court is yet to resolve the matter after delivering a split verdict.

The petition was accordingly dismissed, allowing the school to enforce its prescribed uniform policy.