Fact Check: Did Bombay HC allow hijab in educational institutions unlike Karnataka HC?
Social media users are claiming that the Bombay High Court has said colleges have no right to stop anyone wearing gowns, scarf, or hijab.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 21 March 2022 10:02 AM IST
Hyderabad: Social media users are claiming that the Bombay High Court has said colleges have no right to stop anyone wearing gowns, scarf, or hijab.
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Fact Check:
NewsMeter found the claim to be false.
If at all, the Bombay High Court pronounced any such judgment, the media would have reported it. However, we could not find any such reports.
However, back in 2018, the Bombay High court had allowed a Muslim girl student to attend the classes with a headscarf. (Insert pdf here)
In 2018, Fakeha Badami, a student at Sai Homeopathic Medical College in Thane, filed a writ petition alleging that she was not allowed to the college for wearing hijab and hence she missed her exams. In this regard, the petitioner sought directions to the college to either allow her to attend the college with hijab or transfer her to another college.
Further, the petitioner stated that she is not insistent on wearing a full burqa or veil but only wished to wear a headscarf and long gown and was willing to wear an apron over it. Hearing the petition, the division bench directed the college to allow the student to wear the headscarf as agreed by her in the petition.
More recently, the government PU college in Karnataka's Udupi barred a few girls from wearing hijab/headscarves in the college and insisted on wearing the uniform.
Challenging this ban, the girls approached the Karnataka High court. Hearing the matter, Karnataka High Court through an interim order restrained all the students regardless of their religion or faith from wearing religious clothing in classes if their college has a prescribed uniform until the time the court decides the matter.
Accordingly, on 15 March 2022, the full bench of the Karnataka High Court upheld the ban on the wearing of headscarves by students in educational institutions. In its judgment, the Court held that wearing of Hijab by Muslim women does not form an 'Essential Religious Practice' in the Islamic faith. Further, the court upheld the government's order saying prescription of school uniforms is only a reasonable restriction, constitutionally permissible which students cannot object to.
Following the Karnataka High Court judgment, the Muslim girl petitioners have moved the Supreme Court challenging the High court judgment. The students filed a special leave petition in this regard.
Hence, the claim is false.
