The Supreme Court of India on Friday refused to entertain a plea of Islamic organisations which contended that Muslim girl students be allowed to wear headscarf during CBSE’s All India Pre Medical Test (AIPMT) exam.
The apex court bench headed by Chief Justice HL Dattu while rejecting the plea by Students Islamic Organisation of India, said: “If you appear in an examination without a scarf, your faith will not disappear.”
Describing the plea as “nothing but an ego”, the court said that candidates can wear the headscarf after the exam is over.
The court also observed that faith is something different from wearing a particular type of cloth.
The SC observation came three days after the Kerala High Court granted conditional permission to two Muslim girls to appear for the July 25 AIPMT wearing hijab, a customary religious dress.
Passing orders on their petition, Justice K Vinod Chandran had said the students shall appear before women invigilators half-an-hour before the examination.
The court had refused to interfere with the dress code prescribed by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for students appearing for AIPMT to prevent malpractices and said the petitioners would be subjected to any mode of personal search on any suspicion expressed by the invigilator.
If required, the headscarfs and full sleeve garments will be removed and examined, for which the petitioners shall cooperate, the court had said.
