Supreme Court stays Maharashtra college directive prohibiting hijab on campus

Supreme Court stays college directive banning hijab, questions reasoning behind the decision, emphasizing religious diversity in India.

The Supreme Court on Friday (August 9, 2024) stayed a directive issued by a private college in Maharashtra prohibiting Muslim women students from wearing hijab or other symbols of their faith on campus.

“Will you ban students from wearing a bindi or a tilak?” a Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar asked the lawyers appearing for the Mumbai-based N.G. Acharya and D.K. Marathe College.

Justice Kumar questioned the college’s reasoning that the instruction was intended to draw attention away from the religion of students, and to treat everyone equally on the campus despite their faith.

“Will their names not reveal religion? Will you ask them to be identified by numbers?” Justice Kumar asked.

Justice Khanna said students should be allowed to mingle and study together.

The college, represented by senior advocate Madhavi Divan, had justified that the instruction was to maintain an equanimous academic atmosphere on the campus.

The Bench asked whether the college had suddenly woken up to the fact that this was a religiously diverse country. It listed the case in November.