The Rajasthan Judicial Service exam was held on Sunday, June 23, 2024. Students from various countries, cities, and districts participated in the exam. Sadia Ishaq, a resident of Bathindi in Jammu, was among the candidates. However, she was stopped along with another girl from Uttar Pradesh during the screening process because they were wearing hijabs. While the other girl was allowed to proceed after removing her hijab, Sadia resisted.

Sadia recounted her attempts to convince the examination staff, including the junior nodal officer, but to no avail. She even wrote an application for permission, but it was ignored.

The incident gained attention when her teacher, Najeeb Khan, expressed his outrage on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). He stated, “Today, during the Rajasthan Judicial Services Examination 2024 conducted in Jaipur, my student from Jammu and Kashmir was denied permission to sit for the exam due to her wearing a hijab.”

Khan added that the concerned officer explicitly stated that she must remove her hijab to take the exam. “Despite this, my student chose to leave the examination rather than remove her hijab,” he wrote.

Mr. Najeeb expressed his disappointment with the Rajasthan authorities’ handling of the situation, calling it an injustice to a student from a region where the hijab is a common practice. “You cannot force a lady to remove her hijab… Even though she was ready for all kinds of security screening,” he added.

Mr. Najeeb has not received any response so far.