Questioning the logic that prohibited Muslim students from sporting beards, the Supreme Court on Friday directed Nirmala Convent High School in Madhya Pradesh to reinstate Mohd Salim, a 10th Class student, sacked after he refused to shave insisting it was part of his religious belief.
"Merely because you have a beard, they removed you? So if you are a Sikh, you will not be able to sport a beard. Tomorrow they will say you are not fair complexioned. Nowadays, it has become a fashion for some people to pierce their ears for putting the ring. So such persons will not be allowed to study," a bench of Justices B N Aggrawal and G S Singhvi said, issuing notice to the missionary school authorities on Salim's fresh petition.
The direction and remarks by the bench assume significance, as this is the third time the issue has cropped up before the apex court and an earlier bench had dismissed the student's plea with the controversial observation by Justice Markandeya Katju that the country cannot be 'Talibanised'.
Salim had subsequently filed a review petition objecting to the observations and expressed apprehension over Justice Katju's impartiaility, forcing the bench headed by
Justice R V Raveendran to recuse (withdraw) and request the Chief Justice of India to refer the matter to another bench.
Salim's fresh Special Leave Petition was taken up formally today by the bench of Justice Aggrawal and Justice Singhvi.
On July 6, Justice Katju had apologised for his controversial comments that Muslim students cannot insist on sporting beards, as it would lead to "Talibanisation" of the country.
Nirmala Convent High School, Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, had sacked Mohd Saleem, a 10th class student, in July last year after he refused to shave his beard on the ground that it was mandatory in Islam.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court had dismissed Salim's plea, after which he appealed in the apex court.
However, during the hearing on March 30, Justice Katju had told the petitioner and the advocate Justice B A Khan(retd), who appeared for the student, that Muslims have no fundamental right or religious duty to sport a beard.
The judge had further said it (apex court) cannot allow Muslim students to sport a beard as it amounted to Talibanisation of the country. According to the bench, if the plea of the student was entertained, then tomorrow a girl student might insist on wearing a burqa in the classroom.
"If there are rules, you have to follow it. You can't say that I will not wear a uniform and I will wear only a burqa," the bench had said.
The apex court had said that a minority institution has its own set of rules and rights provided by Article 30 of the Constitution and the same cannot be breached by any person.
The court had also said if the student was not interested in following the rules, then he has the option of joining some other institution.
"You can join some other institution if you do not want to observe the rules. But you can't ask the school to change the rules for you," Justice Katju had said.
Appearing for the student, senior advocate B A Khan had, during the arguments, said Article 25 of the Constitution guaranteed protection to Salim to pursue his religious practice of keeping beard and the regulation providing for shaving it was violative of this provision.
He said the act of the principal to force the student to leave the school for keeping beard was against "his religious conscience, belief and custom of his family".
Pointing out that Sikh community members were allowed to keep a beard and sport a turban, Salim alleged there was a clear discrimination by the school to force him to be clean-shaven and this rule was violative of his fundamental right.
