Muslim girls wearing hijab will be allowed to write AIIMS entrance test: Centre tells Kerala HC

Kochi: The Centre on Wednesday told the Kerala High Court that Muslim girl students wearing hijab, a customary religious dress, will be allowed to write the AIIMS’ entrance test for MBBS on 28 May, if they undergo mandatory checks. [caption id=“attachment_3053398” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The counsel for the Union government and the AIIMS told the bench that the girl students wearing hijab, however, will have to report an hour before the beginning of the examination to undergo the mandatory physical verification on time. The submission was made to a bench of Justice P B Suresh Kumar during the hearing of a plea by Muslim girl students and various Islamic organisations, challenging an AIIMS regulation which allegedly prohibited the students from wearing headgear and scarves. The petitioners alleged this instruction, prohibiting students from wearing the headgear and scarves, was printed on the admit cards for the AIIMS’ MBBS test. They said prohibiting headgear and scarves for candidates appearing for the entrance was unconstitutional and violative of their right to religious freedom guaranteed by Article 25. The court had earlier sought the Centre’s stand on the pleas by the Muslim girl students and organisations. But with the counsel for the Centre and AIIMS, clarifying its stand, Justice Kumar recorded his submission and disposed of the petition.