The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a petition seeking permission for a student to wear a headscarf along with her school uniform, observing that no factual or legal material was presented to establish that wearing a headscarf is an essential religious practice in Islam.
The petition was filed by a minor student of Tagore Public School in Prayagraj through her mother. After completing high school, the student sought admission to Class XI at the same institution and approached the High Court seeking permission to wear a headscarf with her uniform.
A division bench comprising Justices J.J. Munir and Indrajeet Shukla noted that photographs of students from various classes showed that no other girl in the school, including those belonging to the petitioner’s community, wore a headscarf.
The court observed that the petitioner had not placed sufficient factual or legal material on record to demonstrate that wearing a headscarf was an essential part of the Islamic faith, the absence of which would affect a Muslim woman’s religious identity.
The bench further noted that several High Courts have consistently held that wearing a headscarf is not an integral religious practice in Islam to the extent that not wearing one would jeopardise a woman’s faith.
Accordingly, the court declined to grant the student permission to wear a headscarf as part of her school uniform and dismissed the petition.
