New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday made it clear that faith in one’s own religion would not disappear if one appeared in an examination without a scarf for a few hours.
It held that Muslim girls cannot insist on wearing the hijab (scarf) to examination halls for appearing in the All India Pre Medical Test scheduled for Saturday. A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice H.L. Dattu, Justices Arun Misra and Amitav Roy declined to entertain a Special Leave Petition against an order of the Kerala High Court permitting two petitioners to wear scarves on condition that they come to the examination hall 30 minutes before the test and if necessary, subject themselves to frisking by female invigilators.
The Students Islamic Organisation of India and two aggrieved Muslim girl candidates from Kerala had filed the SPL. Following the cancellation of the AIPMT, the CBSE had notified a dress code for the revised AIPMT and banned the use of hairpins, headbands, scarfs and full sleeve clothes or burqa to ensure that no malpractice was committed by candidates. The petitioners wanted quashing of the dress code rules.
Justice Dattu told senior counsel Mr Sanjay Hegde, appearing for the petitioners, that faith was different from insisting on wearing a particular type of cloth to an examination hall. The CJI reminded counsel that certain strict rules had been sought to be implemented by the CBSE in the wake of the cancellation of the earlier test by the apex court.
Describing the plea as “nothing but ego”, the CJI said candidates could wear headscarves after the examination was over.
When Mr Hegde insisted that the CBSE had erred in enforcing such a rule, Justice Dattu observed, “Examiners cannot conduct inquiry into everyone’s faith. They have to do it (AIPMT) appropriately this time.” The Bench proceeded to dismiss the petition but the counsel sought permission to withdraw the same.
