Mumbai Students Move Bombay High Court Against Ban on Hijab, Cap, Stoles in College Dress Code
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College Dress Code Directive Faces Legal Challenge from Students
June 15, 2024
Nine students from a Mumbai college have approached the Bombay High Court challenging a college directive that imposes a dress code restricting students from wearing clothing such as burqas, niqabs, and hijabs that reveal their religion. The students argue that this directive, set to take effect from the new academic year in June 2024, is illegal, arbitrary, and unreasonable.
The college notice prescribes that boys wear full or half shirts and trousers, while girls are to wear “any Indian/western non-revealing dress” on campus. The students, all studying B.Sc. in Computer Science, were notified of the guidelines through messages circulated by faculty members on WhatsApp groups for second and third-year degree courses.
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Aggrieved by this dress code, the students approached the High Court, contending that the college, affiliated with Mumbai University and aided by the State of Maharashtra, lacks the authority to issue such restrictive directives. The petition, filed through advocate Altaf Khan, claims that the notice is “illegal, arbitrary, and unreasonable,” and seeks a declaration from the Court to nullify the directive.
The plea highlighted that the notice or direction is not binding on the petitioners and should be declared without the authority of law. The Division Bench of Justices AS Chandurkar and Rajesh Patil is likely to hear the plea on June 18.
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This legal challenge comes in the context of a broader national debate on the wearing of religious attire in educational institutions. Notably, the Supreme Court is yet to deliver a final decision on the validity of a 2022 Karnataka government order that empowered government colleges in the State to ban the wearing of hijabs.
The Karnataka High Court had upheld this hijab ban in March 2022, leading to an appeal before the Supreme Court. A Division Bench of the top court gave a split verdict in October 2022, resulting in the case being referred to a larger Bench of the Supreme Court, where it is currently pending.
