Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], August 26 (ANI): AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has strongly criticised the Allahabad High Court’s order, dismissing a petition filed by a minor student of a school in Prayagraj, seeking permission to wear a Hijab additionally along with the prescribed school uniform.
Addressing the grand Jalsa-e-Rahmatul-lil-Alameen gathering held at the party headquarters in Darussalam on Tuesday, Owaisi termed the judgement an “attack on Islam”. He suggested that the High Court should not have delivered such an order when the Sabarimala case is pending before the apex court, which is dealing with essentiality in a religion.
The AIMIM chief said, “A judgment came from the Allahabad High Court. A girl was wearing a hijab to school, and the Court ruled that one cannot wear a hijab. I disagree with this High Court judgment; I do not concur with it. The Sabarimala case is already before the Supreme Court, where nine judges are deciding what is essential. Today’s verdict violates Articles 25 and 19 of the Indian Constitution. Who are you to decide what is essential to Islam? Girls are wearing hijab on their heads, not on their minds. It is an attack on Islam.”
On Tuesday, the Allahabad High Court observed that the petitioner failed to present any religious scriptures or material to prove that wearing a scarf is an “essential” part of her religion, without which her faith would be affected. The court also noted that in the photographs, other students from the same religious community were seen not wearing scarves.
The court stated that as long as a dress code is uniform, made in good faith, non-discriminatory, and aimed at maintaining discipline and institutional identity, the determination of the uniform falls primarily within the jurisdiction of the school. The court clarified that even if the student had been wearing a scarf in lower classes without hindrance, it does not grant her a permanent or enforceable right to compel the school to change its uniform policy.
A division bench comprising Justices JJ Munir and Indrajit Shukla clarified that the school is not curtailing the student’s freedom of faith but is merely demanding institutional discipline, of which the uniform is an essential part.
The petitioner student had passed her High School (Class 10) from the same school and sought admission into Class 11. She claimed that she had been wearing a scarf over her school uniform since Class 6 and no objection had ever been raised. However, at the time of admission to Class 11, the school management stated that wearing a scarf was a violation of the dress code and refused her admission on those grounds. (ANI)
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