Allahabad High Court hijab order violates constitutional rights, says Owaisi

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has criticised the Allahabad High Court’s dismissal of a minor student’s plea seeking permission to wear a hijab with her prescribed school uniform, describing the ruling as an “attack on Islam”.

Addressing a Jalsa-e-Rahmatul-lil-Alameen gathering at the AIMIM headquarters in Hyderabad’s Darussalam on Tuesday, Owaisi said he disagreed with the judgment and questioned whether the high court should have issued such an order.

He referred to the Sabarimala matter pending before the Supreme Court, where questions surrounding essential religious practices are under consideration.

“I disagree with this high court judgment; I do not concur with it,” Owaisi said, arguing that the ruling violated Articles 19 and 25 of the Constitution.

“Who are you to decide what is essential to Islam? Girls are wearing hijab on their heads, not on their minds. It is an attack on Islam,” he added.

The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by a minor student of a private school in Prayagraj seeking permission to wear a hijab along with the school uniform.

The court observed that the petitioner had not submitted religious scripture or other evidence establishing that wearing a headscarf was an essential part of her faith. It also noted that photographs placed before it showed other students from the same religious community attending the school without scarves.

During his address, Owaisi also targeted the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party, alleging that they had historically preferred Manusmriti to the Constitution.

The Hyderabad MP claimed that four days after the Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949, an RSS mouthpiece published an article objecting to it and advocating Manusmriti instead.

“They had issues with the Constitution drafted by Babasaheb Ambedkar,” Owaisi said while asking RSS members to clarify their position on Manusmriti.

The AIMIM leader also criticised Hindutva ideologue V.D. Savarkar, contrasting his conduct during imprisonment in the Andaman Cellular Jail with that of Muslim freedom fighters.

Owaisi alleged that Savarkar had written letters to the British seeking his release, while Islamic scholar Allama Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi endured imprisonment without requesting concessions and issued a fatwa calling for resistance against colonial rule.

He also referred to Hyderabad’s Maulvi Alauddin, the Imam of Mecca Masjid, claiming that he was the first prisoner sent to the Andaman Islands.

Turning to the Uniform Civil Code, Owaisi questioned whether laws that he said were based largely on existing Hindu personal laws could genuinely be described as uniform.

He argued that provisions derived from laws governing Hindu marriage, divorce and succession should not be imposed on Muslims in the name of a common civil code.

Owaisi maintained that attempts to separate Muslims from their religious beliefs would fail and said the community would continue to follow the Quran and Sunnah.

The AIMIM chief also reaffirmed Muslims’ commitment to India, saying they would continue to protect the country, contribute to its development and remain steadfast in their faith.

Recalling the role of Muslim freedom fighters, including Turrebaz Khan, Owaisi said their sacrifices in India’s independence movement must not be forgotten.

With IANS inputs