The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a petition filed by a student seeking permission to wear hijab or a scarf along with the prescribed school uniform. The court delivered this significant verdict on August 21 after hearing the plea filed by Sukanya Rizvi, a Class 11 student of Thakur Public School in the Atarsuiya area of Prayagraj.
According to the clear directive of the court, wearing a hijab for Muslim women is not a mandatory or essential religious practice in Islam. The bench of Justice J J Munir and Justice Indrajit Shukla observed that the petitioner failed to submit any reliable religious scripture or evidence to prove that wearing a hijab inside the classroom is compulsory.
Making an important observation regarding the dress code, the bench commented that the prescribed school uniform maintains discipline and equality among students and removes discrimination inside the classroom. This system creates a secular environment for students of all religions. Therefore, the High Court ruled that school authorities have full authority to prescribe a dress code in the interest of discipline and institutional interest.
Although the student argued that she had been wearing the hijab since Class 6, the court clarified that the fact that she was not stopped earlier does not give her a legal right to seek relaxation of the school rules in the future. Moreover, pointing to the full-bench judgment of the Karnataka High Court against hijab, the court dismissed the petition.