Students cry foul as college says dress code is for โinstitutional disciplineโ
On a rainy Thursday morning, students from Mumbaiโs NG Acharya and DK Marathe colleges are waiting at a nearby bus stop.
โOur lectures got cancelled again,โ mutters a B.Com student sitting alongside his friend. The reason? Several students arenโt there in the classroom. The student says such has been the case for the โlast few daysโ.
The Chembur-based college made headlines earlier this week for banning โhijab, jeans, T-shirts, and revealing dressesโ on campus. The noticeโlaminated and stuck on the entry gateโhas drawn the ire of several students.

Some students HW News English spoke to question the need to equate education with their attire.
A 19-year-old student requesting anonymity, said: โWe donโt want to protest. We want to study. We just have one demand โ this (wearing a hijab) is our choice and the college should also listen to our views. I donโt think our clothes have anything to do with my education. Instead, because of applying such dress code, we arenโt able to attend our lectures and are missing out on our attendance and practicalsโ
The student pointed out that many came from lower-middle-class families and didnโt have the money to buy formal clothes.
Another student claimed the principal made an exception to students wearing jeans on campus โ contrary to what the notice said. She alleged that the principal refused to listen to make a similar exception for a hijab.
The college had sparked a controversy in 2023 over a similar dress code for the 11th and 12th grade students banning burqas, hijabs, skull caps and headscarves.
Notably, the college has a large number of Muslim students from nearby Govandi and Shivaji Nagar area.

โIssued a notice to show neutralityโ
In May 2024, students of the degree college got a directive on their official group. It banned students from wearing hijabs, burka, naqab and โany religious identifiers such as badges, caps, or stolesโ on campus.
Instead, a dress code allowing half and full shirts with trousers for boys, and โany Indian/ western non-revealing dressโ for girls was put in place.
On June 14, nine students approached the Bombay High Court in June. In their plea, the students called the ban โarbitrary, unreasonable, bad-in-law and perverseโ. The college, meanwhile, said the notice was applicable to all students and not a particular religion or caste.
A two-judge bench dismissed the studentsโ writ petition on June 26, observing that the college was well within their right to have a dress code in place.
The High Court was in โfull agreementโ with the Karnataka High Courtโs order in 2022 that upheld a ban on hijabs in educational institutions in the state.
Soon after this judgement, another notice dated June 27 was issued for degree students. It made some additions compared to the earlier notice โ prohibiting jeans, t-shirt and revealing dresses.
A third-year student claimed this was the collegeโs way of โshowing neutrality and that they donโt want to come across as trying single-out a particular communityโ
โPreparing students for corporate worldโ
Upon being contacted, Dr. Vidyagauri Lele, principal of the college, refused to HW News English citing lack of permission from the management.
Subodh Acharya, general secretary of the Chembur Trombay Education Society, which runs the Acharya Marathe college said the dress code was a move to instil โinstitutional disciplineโ
Acharya said: โThis (dress code) is to instil institutional discipline. The college is not a place to make a fashion statement. I (college) has a total of 8000 students. Are you telling me I should make an exception for 20-25 students who have a problem? We are preparing the students for the corporate world..we havenโt done anything in violation of the High Court orderโ

Acharya Marathe college isnโt the only to have issued such notices. In 2014, Borivaliโs Nalanda College of Law issued a notice prohibiting female students from wearing skirts, shorts and sleeveless tops.
In 2010, Bhandupโs VK Krishna Menon college banned โfigure-hugging jeansโ.
Back at the bus stop opposite the Chembur college, some students laughed off how โtrivialโ it is for the college to a dress code.
A student lamented: โEverything else is happening here except for studiesโ
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