The Supreme Court has set Tuesday, April 21, 2026, to hear arguments in a case challenging the constitutionality of certain directives of Wesley Girls' High School.

The plaintiff, Shafic Osman, is asking the apex court to declare that the school’s policy, which allegedly compels Muslim students to attend Christian services and restricts them from practising their religion, is inconsistent with the provisions of the 1992 Constitution.

At the previous hearing, the court granted the Board of Directors of the school 14 days to respond to the allegations.

However, the school has argued that its Board lacks the legal capacity to be served with the suit. It maintains that the appropriate party is the Trustees of the Methodist Church, who own the school’s land and properties.

In a related development, the Catholic Church has filed written submissions to assist the court in determining the matter.

The Church argued that the Supreme Court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case, stating that the proper forum for enforcing the rights of the Muslim students is the High Court.

It further contended that faith-based schools are not state-owned institutions but are established and run with church resources.

On that basis, the Catholic Church argued that a person may be deemed to have waived certain religious rights upon voluntarily choosing to attend a faith-based school.

The Deputy Attorney-General, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, has also argued that the school is owned by the Methodist Church and not the state, and therefore has the right to practise its religion in line with Methodist doctrine.

He added that Wesley Girls' High School remains entitled to government funding despite its religious character.

According to him, the state cannot take away the religious rights of the school solely because it receives public funds.

The case is expected to test the balance between constitutional rights to religious freedom and the autonomy of faith-based educational institutions.