Buoyed by the Kerala high court's recent order allowing two Muslim girls to wear head scarf during examination, SIOI and the students requested the SC to grant similar relaxation to all Muslim girls during AIPMT by permitting them to wear full-sleeved dress with head scarf.
Appearing for them, senior advocate Sanjay Hegde said, "It is a matter of religious belief. Muslim women and girls are required by religion to be attired in full-sleeve clothing and scarf whenever they appear in public. If the relaxation in dress code is not granted, these Muslim girls may have to drop out of the examination."
The bench said: "The CBSE has come out with a dress code for the sake of keeping the examination fair and proper. It is a matter of three hours. You observe the dress code mandated by the CBSE for three hours and then wear the scarf as long as you want."
"This is an examination. If during the examination you do not tie the scarf, you would not be committing a sin. No discourtesy will be shown to the religion if you appear in the examination without a scarf. You go and appear in the test and don't waste time in the court," the bench said.
AIPMT was cancelled by the SC following allegations of large-scale cheating by students. To prevent a repeat, CBSE had issued an examination dress code for students making it difficult for them to hide chits or gadgets.
The CBSE notification prohibiting 'scarfs', 'hair pin' and 'hair band' as well as mandating all students to wear half-sleeved clothes without big buttons was termed by petitioners as 'anti-Islamic'. "If the above portions of the notification of CBSE are enforced, the petitioners will not be in a position to sit for the AIPMT scheduled for July 25 and would also amount to violation of their right to freedom of religion," the petition said.
A bench of Chief Justice H L Dattu and Justices Arun Mishra and Amitava Roy said this argument — "allow me to wear the dress dictated by religion otherwise I would not appear in the examination" — was "nothing but an ego issue".
Hegde said the students were ready to come to the examination Centre an hour before the scheduled time to subject themselves to a thorough check by women invigilators. But the bench asked: "If all the students come dressed similarly, how would the invigilator examine their religion and determine whether they were entitled to claim relaxation in dress code?"
The CJI said the SC has on administrative side passed an order saying no one would enter the court rooms with a cap or hat on. "Can a person violate it saying he belonged to a particular religion," he asked. Finding the going tough, Hegde sought permission to withdraw the petition. The court dismissed it as withdrawn.
Nun, Muslim Student Refuse To Remove Religious Attire, Decide Not To Take Test
A 20-year-old Lucknow student on Saturday opted out of the All-India Pre Medical Test (AIPMT) as she did not want to take off her abaya (loose overgarment worn with a headscarf) in line with the Supreme Court order upholding the ban on headscarves and long sleeves during the exam.
“I would rather not take the exam than put my religious sentiments at stake,“ said Rehana*, who has been wearing the abaya since childhood. She said she was asked to take off the abaya and take the exam with her headscarf on.
Rehana said this was not the end of her aspiration to become a doctor.
“This would have been my first attempt at AIPMT, but I do not mind wasting a year and appearing for the Uttar Pradesh Combined Pre-Medical Test if the call is a ban on my attire or my thinking. I do not regret taking this stand,“ she said.
Rehana, who had taken a year off to prepare for the exam, was not alone. In Thiruvananthapuram, 19-year-old nun Sr Seba was not allowed to take AIPMT after she refused to remove her head veil and cross attached to it.
The nun, who attended coaching classes for a year for the test, said she was aware of the Supreme Court order.
“But I thought that the school would permit me to use the head veil after frisking and I reached the centre by 8am. I was subjected to checking at 8.30am and was waiting in the line when the principal approached me, demanding that I remove the veil to write the exam,“ Seba told TOI.
She agreed to remove the veil but pleaded that she be allowed to cover her head with a scarf. But Sathyadas, the principal of the school where her examination centre was located, said he understood her religious sentiments but had no choice but to comply with the order.
“I then consulted my mother provincial over the phone.My superiors informed me that Ishould not remove my veil as it was against our custom. Fol lowing this, I came back to convent without writing the exam,'' she said.
The principal said they did not allow Seba into the exam hall since she was not ready to be frisked. “We were given written guidelines to be followed for the conduct of the examination. She was not ready to allow anybody to even touch her veil,'' Sathyadas said. Cardinal Baselios Mar Cleemis of Malankara Catholic Church said the incident was disturbing and raised questions regarding the rights of a citizen.
“We do not wish to rake up a controversy over the issue but it is disturbing to note that the nun was not allowed to wear her religious paraphernalia even though she was ready to undergo security check. What is it that is being targeted -religious symbols or exam malpractices?“ The strict dress code, which barred students from wearing full-sleeved shirts, metallic items and shoes as well, forced five baptized Sikh students in Punjab, Chandigarh and Jaipur to remove their articles of faith before taking the exam.
Three baptized Sikh students were allowed to take the test in Bathinda after they removed their `kirpans' (small swords) and `karas' (iron bangles).
Girl students Gurpreet Kaur and Harsimrat Kaur, too had to leave their articles of faith behind before taking the exam. At a centre in Chandigarh's Sector-47, Karanbir Singh from Patiala was asked to remove his `kara' and sword before he was allowed to take the test.
After a nun was prevented from appearing for the pre-medical entrance exam on July 25 because she refused to remove her head veil, Congress and Indian Union Muslim League lashed out at the Supreme Court's order that had made the CBSE's dress code for the exam binding.
The dress code disallowed examinees from wearing head scarves and the hijab.
IUML leader E T Muhammed Basheer termed the verdict unjustifiable. “The observations made by the Supreme Court are wrong. The court has no right to comment on religious faith. It is natural that the verdict of the Supreme Court will become the law. Hence the verdict is unacceptable and wrong,'' he said. KPCC president V M Sudheeran said the decision impinged on the freedom of faith and rituals followed by religions. The Centre, he said, should take effective steps to prevent such decisions that affect the sentiments of people. Chief min ister Oommen Chandy , however, chose to be diplomatic, saying in Kochi that he can respond only after studying the issue. BJP reacted strongly against the IUML leadership, accusing it of indulging in “communal politics“. ` “Those who are not ready to accept the verdict of the Supreme Court should rethink whether they have the right to continue as citizens of the country ,“ BJP state president V Muraleedharan said.
