In a significant legal development, the Supreme Court of India has stayed the implementation of a hijab ban imposed by a Mumbai college. The apex court's decision comes amidst growing debates over religious freedoms and the rights of individuals to express their faith through clothing and symbols. However, the court ruled that no religious events could be held on campus and that girls could not wear burqas in class.A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar questioned the college's selective restriction on religious symbols, questioning why, if the goal was to establish a uniform dress code, it had not also prohibited other religious markings, such tilak and bindi.
The Bombay High Court's decision not to intervene with the college's decision to impose the ban was challenged in an appeal by the Supreme Court. Nine female students in the science course's second and third years had objected to the college's directive, claiming it infringed upon their fundamental rights, which included the freedom of religious practice, the right to privacy, and the ability to make their own decisions.
The conflict started on May 1st, when NG Acharya & DK Marathe College, a branch of the Chembur Trombay Education Society, posted a notification on its official WhatsApp group, which was attended by students and professors. The notice contained a dress rule that forbade the wearing of stoles, caps, badges, niqabs, burqas, or hijabs on college campuses. In their plea, the petitioners claimed that this instruction was "bad-in-law, null and invalid" since it was issued without any legal authority.
