Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court has upheld the authority of a private CBSE-affiliated school to enforce its prescribed uniform and declined a Class 11 student’s plea seeking permission to wear a hijab along with the school dress. The court observed that a uniform policy designed to maintain discipline, equality and institutional identity cannot be relaxed merely because a student had previously been permitted to modify the prescribed attire.
A bench of Justices J J Munir and Indrajeet Shukla, hearing the matter on August 21, said a common dress code serves several purposes in an educational institution, including promoting discipline and equality among students while maintaining a religion-neutral environment.
“The prescribed uniform that serves as a dress code for students attending a School serves many purposes. It instills discipline, equality amongst children, projects institutional identity and eschews distinctions within the classroom,” the court observed.
The court also emphasised that a uniform rule applies uniformly to students of different faiths and, therefore, does not by itself discriminate against a particular religious community.
The case concerned a minor girl who had studied at the school from Class 6 to Class 10 and had worn a headscarf during those years without objection from the institution. After completing Class 10, however, she sought admission to Class 11 while continuing to wear the headscarf with the prescribed uniform. According to her plea, the school did not permit her to continue doing so.
The student, who claimed to belong to the Shia Muslim community, argued that wearing the headscarf was a religious practice she had followed since childhood. Through her mother, she approached the court, invoking her fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.
She also submitted school identity cards and group photographs showing her wearing a headscarf in earlier classes. However, the High Court made it clear that the school’s earlier tolerance of the practice could not create a permanent or enforceable right to a modification of its uniform policy.
The bench noted that this was not a case where the school had suddenly changed its prescribed uniform. Rather, the institution was insisting that the student follow the existing dress code instead of continuing with an additional modification.
On the religious-practice aspect, the court observed that no sufficient factual or authoritative material had been placed before it to establish that wearing a headscarf was an essential religious practice, the omission of which would jeopardise the petitioner’s Islamic faith.
The court further noted that existing judicial precedents on the issue did not support the student’s claim.
At the same time, the High Court clarified that the school remains free to modify its uniform policy in the future. However, unless such a change is made, students are required to adhere to the dress code prescribed by the institution.
