In the wake of the Karnataka High Court verdict upholding the ban on the wearing of headscarves (Hijab) by students in educational institutions, a social media post claiming that the Bombay High Court has opined that ‘college management has no right to stop anyone who wants to wear gown, scarf or hijab’ is being widely circulated. The post further says that Bombay High Court has given a befitting counter to the recent Karnataka High Court verdict. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: College management has no right to stop anyone who wants to wear gown, scarf or hijab – Bombay High Court counter to Karnataka HC judgement.
Fact: Lately, the Bombay High Court did not pronounce any judgements contradicting the Karnataka High Court judgement regarding wearing of hijab to educational institutions. In 2018, the Bombay High court permitted a Muslim girl student to attend the classes with hijab. However, it has nothing to do with the recent developments. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Lately, the Bombay High Court did not pronounce any judgment contradicting the judgement of the Karnataka High Court in matters related to hijab. If at all, the Bombay High Court 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 has granted a Muslim girl student’s plea to permit her to attend the classes with a headscarf.
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 due to lack of attendance. 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.
Karnataka High Judgment :
Following a government order mandating uniforms prescribed by the management in colleges that come under the purview of the pre-university education department, the government PU college in Udupi barred a few girls from wearing hijab/headscarves to the college and insisted on wearing the uniform.
Challenging this ban, the girls approached the Karnataka High court challenging the denial of their entry by the government PU college. Hearing the matter, Karnataka High Court through an interim order restrained all the students regardless of their religion or faith from wearing religious clothing to class 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 uniform 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.
To sum it up, the Bombay High Court did not pronounce any judgment contradicting the Karnataka High Court judgment in matters related to hijab.
