The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Thursday challenged a Kerala high court Single Bench order, permitting Muslim girls to wear the hijab, a customary religious dress, for the All India Pre-Medical Test-2016.
In an appeal filed before the Division Bench of the High Court, the CBSE said the Single Bench had ignored the likelihood of millions of students being affected by its direction, particularly in view of the fact that arrangements for the conduct of examination have been completed.
It contended that since the judgment creates necessity for additional women invigilators, the CBSE would find conduct of the examination with such additional women invigilators trained to “honour religious sentiments” extremely cumbersome, unmanageable and unworkable with the existing manpower extant arrangement at this extremely belated stage.
In his April 26 order, Justice Muhammed Mushtaq had permitted all candidates who, based on the religious practice, want to wear headscarf and full-sleeved length dress to appear for the examination but on condition that they be present at the hall half an hour before the exam for frisking, if necessary, by women invigilators.
The Court had said that the CBSE dress code shall not be enforced against the candidates who, by the virtue of Article 25, are protected from wearing such dress as prescribed in the injunctions of their faith.
The order was issued, while hearing a writ petition by one Amnah Bint Basheer, challenging the dress code prescribed for candidates by the CBSE in the bulletin relating to conduct of AIPMET-2016.