The Indian Supreme Court has agreed to examine the “beard issue” of a Muslim cop and sought response from the Home Ministry to settle the dispute once and for all, Indian media reported on Wednesday.
Zahiruddin Shamsuddin Bedade, a constable in the Maharashtra Reserve Police Force, was permitted by his commandant to wear a beard through a May 7, 2012 order with a warning that it would be kept trimmed, neat and tidy.
Five months later, the commandant rescinded his earlier order saying the permission to grow beard until the rest of the service was not in accordance with the rules. “In future, if it is found necessary to grow beard temporarily during specific months, Bedade should get such permission from this office,” the order said.
Bedade challenged this order in the Bombay High Court (BHC), which dismissed his petition resulting in initiation of disciplinary proceedings against him by the Police Department. Later, he moved the Supreme Court.
A bench of Indian Supreme Court, comprising of Justices P Sathasivam and JS Khehar, said this issue had arisen in the past before some of the high courts and most had rejected demands from policeman to wear a beard. The time has come for the SC to examine the issue from the constitutional point of view and settle the controversy once and for all, it said and stayed the disciplinary proceedings against Bedade.
The Aurangabad bench of the BHC had held that police force being a secular law enforcing agency, it was of utmost importance that such force must have a secular image. In situations like communal riots, postings at religious places of worship and sensitive areas members of the disciplined force had to discharge their duties without displaying religious identity, the BHC had said in its December 12, 2012. The BHC agreed with its earlier decision and said, “Wearing a beard is not a fundamental tenet of Islam. It cannot be treated as a part of the religious faith or belief. For that matter, it cannot be treated even as a religious practice of general acceptance.”
Petitioner Bedade, through his counsel Shakil Ahmad Syed, said the union government in its 1989 circular for paramilitary forces had said, “A member of the force belonging to Muslim community may be permitted to keep beard on religious grounds. Once permission is given, the member concerned will have to wear it consistently for the rest of his service unless permitted upon written request to remove.” Advocate Anoop Chaudhry argued before the SC bench and cited several sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) advising Muslims to wear a beard and hence it was obligatory on part of every Muslim to follow it.
The bench issued asked the Home Ministry and the Maharashtra government to file their responses within four weeks.
