New Delhi, Aug 22 - Educational institutes can impose any dress code provided it is not discriminatory or not targeted at a particular community, experts say, amid a controversy over a Karnataka college banning a student from wearing a burqa.

According to senior Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan, presently no state legislature or department of education mandates the wearing of uniforms or specific dress codes.

'They (private institutes) can have their own dress code but it has to be non-discriminatory,' Bhushan told IANS.

'Indian law has no separate clause for dress codes in schools or colleges, but if imposing or prohibiting a particular dress is targeted at a particular community, a student can seek legal action against the institute for violation of fundamental rights,' the lawyer maintained.

'It is like private clubhouses. In a golf club or at a tennis court you are asked to wear golf shirts, sneakers or even shorts. You cannot challenge that. The same is true about private educational institutes,' Bhushan said.

Wearing uniforms or conforming to a particular dress code is a practice schools in India follow up to the Class 12 level to help maintain order and discipline. However, no such practice is followed at the college level. Thus, recent instances of dress prohibition in some colleges in India have triggered furious reactions from students.

The latest in the league is Karnataka's Sri Venkataramana Swamy College that did not let 19-year-old Ayesha Ashmin attend classes because she insisted on wearing a burqa. The B.Com first year student of the Mangalore college complained she was being persecuted for her religious beliefs.

The college has denied this, blandly saying the girl had violated the rules of the institution.

In June, four colleges in Kanpur banned students from wearing jeans, saying this move would help check the harassment of women.