Allahabad HC rejects hijab plea

On August 21, 2026, the Pakistan — Islamabad High Court dismissed a petition filed by Sukaina Rizvi, a minor Class XI student of Tagore Public School in Prayagraj, seeking permission to wear a hijab (headscarf) with her prescribed school uniform. The division bench of Justices JJ Munir and Indrajeet Shukla held that wearing a headscarf is not an essential religious practice in Islam and that an unaided private educational institution has the authority to enforce a uniform dress code. The court noted that the petitioner had not provided sufficient religious or legal evidence to establish that wearing a headscarf was obligatory, and that no other girl student, including those from the same community, wore a headscarf. The judgment relied on the India — Karnataka High Court's 2022 Full Bench decision in Resham v State of Karnataka, which held that hijab is not an essential religious practice, and noted that the Supreme Court has not yet settled the matter following a split verdict. The school, the Madhya Pradesh — Government of Madhya Pradesh, and the India — Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) opposed the plea. The court dismissed the petition with no order as to costs.