Madhya Pradesh High Court: A single-judge bench comprising of Dinesh Kumar Paliwal,* J., granted bail to the applicants subjected to several conditions considering the fact that the main allegations were against the school management and the trial was likely to be time-consuming. The Court imposed conditions to ensure the protection of the rights and religious practices of non-Muslim students in the school.
Brief Facts
In the instant matter, the applicants filed first bail applications under Section 439 of the CrPC seeking regular bail concerning the FIR registered against the Principal, a teacher, a peon, and the school management for offenses under various sections including Sections 295A, 506, and 120B of the Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), Sections 75 and 87 of the Juvenile Justice Act (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act), and Sections 3 and 5(1) of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021.
The allegations centered around the imposition of a dress code requiring non-Muslim girls in Ganga Jamuna Higher Secondary School to wear headscarves (Hijaab), salwar kurtis, and dupattas. It was claimed that students of Hindu and Jain faith were prevented from wearing sacred threads (kalawa) and tilaks. Urdu language teaching and recitation of prayers from the Muslim faith were also contested.
Contentions
The applicants contended that they were innocent and falsely implicated, it was the school management who established the dress code and religious practices and the applicants merely followed school management’s instructions.
The respondent contended that the applicants have allegedly compelled students to adopt religious practices against their faith. It was contended that the non-Muslim students were forced to wear headscarves and participate in Islamic practices. The respondent further contended that minority institutions cannot impose such practices on students of other religions.
Court's Observation and Decision
After considering the fact that the main allegations were against the school management and the trial was expected to be time-consuming, The Court without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, allowed the appellant's bail applications subject to specific conditions to be followed by the applicants. The conditions are as followed:
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Applicants are not to commit the offense for which they are released on bail.
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Applicants should not prevent non-Muslim students from practicing their own religious rituals.
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Applicants should not enforce the reading or studying of material or languages not approved by the Madhya Pradesh Education Board.
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Applicants should provide only modern education as specified in the Juvenile Justice Act.
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Non-Muslim girl students were not to be compelled to wear headscarves anywhere on school premises.
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Applicants were to furnish a personal bond with a specified amount and surety for their regular appearance before the trial court.
The Court ordered the conditions to be effective until the end of the trial and warned against bail breach.
[Asfa Sheikh v. State of M.P., 2023 SCC OnLine MP 2677, order dated 23-08-2023]
*Judgment by Justice Dinesh Kumar Paliwal
Advocates who appeared in this case :
Shri Manish Datt, Senior Advocate with Shri Mayank Sharma, Counsel for the Applicant
Shri Pradeep Gupta, Government Advocate, Counsel for the Respondent
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