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On Wednesday, the Bombay High Court noted that the dress code of a Mumbai institution, which forbids students from donning hijab, nakab, burka, stole, caps, and other items, is in the greater academic benefit of the students.  Nine female students from NG Acharya and D. K. Marathe College of Art, Science, and Commerce filed a writ case challenging the dress code, which was dismissed by a division bench of Justices AS Chandurkar and Rajesh S Patil.

The Bombay High Court also referred to the Full Bench decision of the Karnataka High Court in Resham v. State of Karnataka which maintained a government decree establishing a dress code that forbade the wearing of hijabs. The Karnataka High Court ruled in that case that the dress code did not violate any basic rights because it was intended to treat students as a homogeneous class in support of constitutional secularism. The Supreme Court is currently considering a challenge to the Karnataka High Court’s decision, following the division bench’s October 2022 split decision.

The petitioners, who are enrolled in their second and third year of undergraduate studies, contested the dress code, arguing that it infringes upon their fundamental rights to forbid the wearing of headscarves, burkas, stoles, caps, and other items on campus. Students are supposed to dress in a formal, respectable manner that does not indicate their religion in accordance with the contested dress code. The court stated that all students are subject to the clothing code in question, regardless of their language, caste, creed, or religion. It went on to state that the college administration was entitled to basic management powers, which included setting the dress code.

“We do not find as to how these guidelines and instructions are violated by the Instructions issued by the College. On the contrary, the Policy on Code of Ethics laid down by the Management of the College seeks to enforce the aforesaid guidelines and instructions”, the court stated, along with, “We are in respectful agreement with the view expressed by the Full Bench that prescription of a dress code is intended to achieve uniformity amongst students in the school/college so as to maintain discipline and avoid disclosure of one’s religion.”

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Written by – Gnaneswarran Beemarao