The Mumbai High Court has given a very important judgment regarding the hijab controversy. Hijab is not compulsory in Islam, the Bombay High Court said that the court was not prepared to remove and cancel the order of the authorities banning hijab in college. The court dismissed the petitions challenging the order of the college authorities.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday upheld the ban imposed by Chembur College on students wearing burqas, hijabs and niqabs on campus. The purpose behind prescribing the dress code is clear and the intention is not to reveal a student’s religion. Justices A S Chandurkar and Rajesh Patil said, “This objective serves the greater academic interest of the students for the administration and discipline of the college.”
The court dismissed the petition of nine science students of NG Acharya and DK Marathi College, holding that the ban was arbitrary, discriminatory and violative of their fundamental rights under Article 19 (1) (a) and against religion under Article 25. It has been ruled that wearing the hijab or niqab is not an obligatory ritual for Muslim girls.
The petition says that their rights to choice and privacy are affected by the way they dress and that wearing the hijab and niqab is an essential religious practice. Senior advocate Anil Anturkar, appearing for the college, cited a Full Bench judgment of the Karnataka High Court in a similar case that wearing hijab or niqab is not a mandatory ritual for Muslim girls.
