Not essential to Islam: Allahabad HC rejects students plea to wear hijab in school
The student had approached the court seeking permission to wear a headscarf with her school uniform. She argued that wearing the headscarf was part of her religious practice.
PTC News Desk: The Allahabad High Court has rejected a Muslim student's petition seeking permission to wear 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 a petition by a Class 11 student from a Prayagraj school, said that simply claiming something is a religious practice is not enough to seek protection under the right to religious freedom.
The student had approached the court seeking permission to wear a headscarf with her school uniform. She argued that wearing the headscarf was part of her religious practice.
However, the court said the student had not provided enough religious or legal evidence to show that wearing a headscarf was an essential practice in Islam and that not wearing it would affect her faith.
The court also stressed the importance of a common dress code in schools. It said that if a school has a uniform dress policy that is applied equally to all students and is meant to maintain discipline and the institution's identity, students cannot demand changes based on personal choices.
The student said she had been allowed to wear a headscarf from Class 6 to Class 10 without any objection from the school. The court, however, said the school's earlier decision to allow it did not give her a legal right to continue wearing it if the school later chose to strictly enforce its uniform rules.
The bench also referred to earlier court rulings, noting that several High Courts had held that wearing a headscarf is not an essential religious practice in Islam. It said there was no reason to take a different position from an earlier Karnataka High Court judgment on the issue.
The court further noted that the Karnataka High Court's decision allowing schools to restrict hijabs remains in force, as the Supreme Court has not yet settled the matter following a split verdict.
The High Court therefore dismissed the student's petition and allowed the school to enforce its prescribed uniform rules.