SC refuses urgent hearing on college dress codes

New Delhi: On Thursday, the Supreme Court declined to grant an urgent hearing to a PIL that asked for a directive to the Center and states to enact a uniform dress code for faculty and students in accredited educational institutions in order to ensure equality, foster fraternity, and advance national integration.

Attorney Ashwini Upadhyay asked a bench presided over by Chief Justice N V Ramana to hear his PIL along with the group of appeals brought against the Karnataka High Court's decision in the hijab controversy.

The petitions challenging the Karnataka High Court decision refusing to lift the ban on the hijab in state educational institutions will be listed next week, the bench, which also included justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli, decided after taking note of the arguments made by attorney Prashant Bhushan on Wednesday.

Mr. Upadhyay stated at the opening that this is a concern relating to the standard dress code. “We have told you a number of times. Do not force me to repeat. Every day you file a PIL. How many matters have you filed? As if there is no regular litigation. I do not know, in every case you come and mention. It will come in due course. Wait...,” the bench said.

“Your Lordship agreed to hear the hijab matter yesterday... I filed this PIL in February,” Upadhyay said. Earlier in February, the PIL was filed by Nikhil Upadhyay through lawyers Ashwini Upadhyay and Ashwani Dubey in the apex court seeking implementation of common dress code in educational institutions in the wake of the hijab row.

The plea has also sought a direction to the Centre to set up a judicial commission or an expert panel to suggest steps for inculcating values of “social and economic justice, socialism secularism and democracy and to promote fraternity dignity unity and national integration among the students”.

“Alternatively, being custodian of the Constitution and protector of fundamental rights, direct the Law Commission of India to prepare a report suggesting steps to secure social equality and to promote fraternity dignity unity and national integration within three months,” it said.

The Law Commission has joined the PIL as a party, along with the Center, the States, and the Union Territories. The PIL asks the Respondent Authorities to "strictly implement a common dress code for staff and students in all the registered and recognised educational institutions in order to secure equality of status and social equality and to promote fraternity dignity unity national integration."

It made reference to a few demonstrations against the hijab restrictions in Karnataka that were staged in the nation's capital on February 10.