Asaduddin Owaisi Slams Allahabad High Court's Hijab Ruling, Calls It Violation of Constitutional Rights

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) President Asaduddin Owaisi has issued a sharp criticism of a recent ruling by the Allahabad High Court, which held that wearing a headscarf (hijab) is not an essential religious practice in Islam and upheld a school's authority to enforce its prescribed uniform policy. Addressing the annual Jalsa-e-Rahmatul-lil-Alameen public gathering at the AIMIM headquarters in Darussalam, Hyderabad, Owaisi characterized the decision as a direct attack on Islam and contended that judiciary bodies should refrain from defining essential tenets of religious faith, particularly while related questions on the essential religious practices doctrine remain pending before a nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court.

The controversy follows the dismissal of a writ petition by a division bench of the Allahabad High Court, comprising Justice J.J. Munir and Justice Indrajit Shukla. The petition was filed on behalf of a minor Class 11 female student seeking permission to wear a scarf over her prescribed school uniform at a private institution in Prayagraj.

The High Court observed that the petitioner failed to submit sufficient scriptural material or authoritative documentation proving that wearing a headscarf is an essential religious practice without which the practice of Islam is impaired. The bench held that where an educational institution enforces a non-discriminatory uniform dress code in good faith to preserve institutional discipline and identity, determining uniform standards falls within the administrative domain of the school administration.

Challenging the judicial reasoning, Owaisi asserted that the High Court's ruling infringes upon fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 19 (Freedom of Expression) and Article 25 (Freedom of Religion) of the Constitution of India.

Remarking that female students wear the hijab on their heads and not on their minds, he argued that imposing uniform dress restrictions on Muslim girls unfairly restricts their access to formal education.

Owaisi stressed that uniformity does not equate to equality and questioned why the High Court adjudicated the essentiality of the hijab while the Supreme Court is actively examining the overarching scope of essential religious practices in the context of the Sabarimala reference.