Wearing hijab not an essential religious practice in Islam, says Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court has observed that wearing a headscarf could not be established as an “essential religious practice” in Islam.A student had approached the court seeking permission to wear a hijab with her school uniform after Tagore Public School in Prayagraj allegedly denied her admission to Class 11 because she wore a headscarf.The High Court held that there was no material placed on record to establish that a Muslim woman or girl would be considered to have left the faith if she chose not to wear one.The petitioner had argued that wearing a hijab was an essential religious practice protected under her fundamental rights to equality before the law and freedom of speech and expression.She also said that she had been allowed to wear the headscarf at the same school from Class 6 onwards without objection.In an order on August 21, the court said that the school might not have raised any objection in the past due to “lethargy, inaction, lack of will, non-enforcement of the uniform policy, even courtesy or hesitation”. But, this would not prevent the school from implementing its uniform policy or enforcing its dress code now, the court held.The Allahabad High Court also referred to previous rulings of the Bombay and Karnataka High Courts. The Bombay High Court had held that choosing not to cover one’s head in an all-girls section did not amount to a violation of an essential Islamic practice. The Karnataka High Court, too, had ruled that wearing the hijab was not an essential religious practice.In October 2022, the Supreme Court delivered a split verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the Karnataka High Court’s order upholding the state government’s ban on wearing the hijab in educational institutions.Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia had quashed the state government’s order, while Justice Hemant Gupta had dismissed the appeals. As the two judges gave different rulings, Gupta said the matter would be placed before the chief justice for further directions.The matter is yet to be decided by a larger bench of the Supreme Court.Written by Anamika Pathak. Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.