The Supreme Court is set to hear a case on Friday involving a group of college students challenging a Bombay High Court decision that supported a ban on wearing hijabs, niqabs, burqas, caps, and similar items at a private college in Mumbai.
The case will be heard by a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and PV Sanjay Kumar. The students’ lawyer, Abiha Zaidi, had requested an urgent hearing due to ongoing exams that started on Thursday, which could prevent the students from attending because of the dress code.
On Thursday, Zaidi brought the issue to the attention of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, explaining that the students might miss their exams because of the dress code rules. The CJI informed her that the case had already been assigned to a bench that would hear it on Friday.
The case centers on NG Acharya & DK Marathe College in Mumbai, which implemented a dress code banning students from wearing hijabs, niqabs, burqas, stoles, caps, and similar attire on campus. Nine female students had earlier challenged this dress code in the Bombay High Court, but their plea was rejected.
On June 26, a bench of justices AS Chandurkar and Rajesh S Patil from the Bombay High Court declined to hear the students’ plea, stating that the dress code only applied on campus and did not infringe on their freedom of choice and expression outside the college.
After the High Court’s decision, the students appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the dress code banning religious attire on campus violates their fundamental rights. They claim that the dress code, which requires students to wear formal and decent clothing that doesn’t indicate any religion, is unfair and discriminatory. They believe that the college’s rule violates their right to choose their clothing, their right to privacy, their freedom of expression under Article 19(1)(a), and their right to religious freedom under Article 25 of the Constitution.
