The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a petition filed by a Class 11 Muslim student seeking permission to wear a hijab along with her prescribed school uniform, observing that the practice had not been established as an essential religious practice entitled to protection under Article 25 of the Constitution.
The petition was heard by a division bench comprising Justice JJ Munir and Justice Indrajeet Shukla. The student, who attends a school in Prayagraj, had approached the court after seeking permission to continue wearing a headscarf with her prescribed uniform.
The student argued that wearing the hijab was part of her religious practice and that she had been wearing a headscarf since childhood. She also stated that she had worn it while attending the school from Class 6 to Class 10 without facing any objection.
However, the High Court held that merely claiming a practice to be religious was not sufficient to seek constitutional protection under Article 25. The court observed that the petitioner had not provided sufficient factual or legal grounds to establish that wearing a headscarf was an obligatory practice in Islam or that not wearing it would affect the practice of her faith.
The bench also upheld the authority of educational institutions to enforce a prescribed dress code. It observed that where a school uniform policy is applied uniformly, without discrimination, and is intended to maintain discipline and institutional identity, individual students cannot seek exemptions solely on the basis of personal preference.
Addressing the student's argument that the school had previously allowed her to wear a headscarf, the court said the earlier absence of an objection did not create a permanent legal right. According to the court, a school could subsequently decide to strictly enforce its prescribed uniform policy.
The High Court also referred to earlier judicial decisions concerning the wearing of hijab in educational institutions and noted that other High Courts had taken the view that wearing a headscarf had not been established as an essential religious practice of Islam.
The court said there was no reason to depart from the earlier view taken by the Karnataka High Court on the issue. It also noted that the broader legal question remains unresolved at the Supreme Court level following a split verdict in the hijab case.
With the petition dismissed, the school has been allowed to continue enforcing its prescribed uniform policy.
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