Supreme Court slams Mumbai College for Hijab ban, stays dress code directive

New Delhi, Aug 09: The Supreme Court on Friday sharply criticised a Mumbai college for enforcing a ban on students wearing burqa, hijab, or niqab on campus, and issued an interim order staying the controversial directive, The bar & Bench reported.

The college, NG Acharya and DK Marathe College of Arts, Science, and Commerce in Chembur, had issued the ban as part of a new dress code, which had been upheld by the Bombay High Court earlier.

The High Court had stated that the directive aimed to prevent the disclosure of a student’s religion, thereby allowing them to focus solely on their education.

A Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and PV Sanjay Kumar, while hearing the petition challenging the ban, expressed strong reservations about the college’s rationale. “How are you empowering women by telling them what to wear? Less said the better.

Where is the choice for the woman? You have suddenly woken up to the fact that they are wearing it. It is unfortunate that these things are being said after so many years of independence, and you say religion is there in this country,” Justice Kumar remarked, according to Bar & Bench.