The Allahabad High Court has observed that wearing a headscarf is not an essential religious practice in Islam, as per a student's petition seeking permission to wear a hijab with her school uniform.
In a significant ruling, the Allahabad High Court has determined that wearing a hijab cannot be established as an 'essential religious practice' in Islam. The judgement was issued in response to a student's petition, who had approached the court seeking permission to wear a hijab with her school uniform after being denied admission to Class 11 by Tagore Public School in Prayagraj due to wearing a headscarf.
The High Court held that no material was presented on record to establish that a Muslim woman or girl would be considered to have left the faith if she chose not to wear a headscarf. The petitioner argued that wearing a hijab was an essential religious practice protected under her fundamental rights to equality before the law and freedom of speech and expression. She also stated that she had been allowed to wear the headscarf at the same school from Class 6 onwards without objection.
In its order dated August 21, the court noted that the school might not have raised any objection in the past due to 'lethargy, inaction, lack of will, non-enforcement of the uniform policy, even courtesy or hesitation'. However, this would not prevent the school from implementing its uniform policy or enforcing its dress code now, the court held.
The Allahabad High Court also referred to previous rulings of the Bombay and Karnataka High Courts. The Bombay High Court had previously held that choosing not to cover one’s head in an all-girls section did not amount to a violation of an essential Islamic practice. The Karnataka High Court too had ruled that wearing the hijab was not an essential religious practice.
In October 2022, the Supreme Court delivered a split verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the Karnataka High Court’s order upholding the state government’s ban on wearing the hijab in educational institutions.
Source:
Scroll.in
