Indian court denies Muslim student right to wear hijab at school
Muslim leaders have called for ruling to be reconsidered after judges backed private school’s uniform policy and rejected student’s religious-freedom argument
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — An Indian court has denied a Muslim schoolgirl permission to wear a hijab with her prescribed school uniform, ruling that educational institutions can enforce dress codes in the name of discipline and equality.
The Allahabad High Court issued the ruling on Aug. 21 after the Class 11 student challenged her private school’s refusal to allow her to wear a headscarf along with its uniform, according to Maktoob Media.
A two-judge bench said requiring all students to follow the same dress code helped create what it called a “religion-neutral atmosphere,” arguing that the rule did not discriminate because it applied to students of all faiths.
The judges said school uniforms were intended to maintain discipline, promote equality, establish an institutional identity and prevent distinctions among students inside classrooms.
The student had sought the court’s intervention on religious-freedom grounds, arguing that wearing a hijab was an essential religious practice in Islam.
The court rejected that argument, saying the petition had not presented authoritative Islamic texts or other material demonstrating that covering the head inside the classroom was obligatory, or that being prevented from doing so would fundamentally affect the student’s practice of Islam.
The judges also referred to previous Indian court rulings that found the hijab was not an “essential religious practice” in Islam — a legal test Indian courts have used to decide whether certain religious practices qualify for constitutional protection.
The ruling has drawn criticism from Muslim religious leaders, who challenged the court’s reasoning on the religious significance of the hijab and urged it to reconsider the decision.
All India Muslim Jamaat President Maulana Mufti Shahabuddin Razvi Bareilvi argued that a school uniform and hijab should be treated as separate matters. A Muslim student, he said, could comply with the prescribed uniform while also covering her head in accordance with her faith.
Bareilvi said the requirement for Muslim women to cover their heads was supported by the Quran and other Islamic religious texts and urged judges and lawyers to examine those sources.
Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahli, chairman of the Islamic Centre of India, also called for the judgment to be reviewed.
“Scarf or hijab should be allowed along with the uniform,” he said, arguing that followers of other religions are also permitted to wear items associated with their faith.
The case adds to a years-long legal and political dispute over the right of Muslim students to wear hijabs in Indian educational institutions.
The issue became a major national controversy in 2022 after Muslim students in the southern state of Karnataka were barred from wearing hijabs in some classrooms.
The Karnataka High Court upheld the restrictions, but an appeal before India’s Supreme Court later produced a split verdict, leaving the wider constitutional question unresolved.
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