The Karnataka High Court resumed hearings on the hijab case today, which has sparked outrage across the country. Yesterday the court was adjourned while the petitioner’s advocate Devdatt Kamat was making submissions. Yesterday before the adjournment, Adv. Kamat told the court that he would complete his submissions within the next 10 minutes whenever the hearing was resumed.
Before adjourning the court yesterday, the Chief Justice read out the names of the attorneys who will be representing the petitioners, the female students, in the ongoing hearings today.
Adv. Kamat started his submissions with clarification regarding the translation of the GO which was disputed yesterday. He stated that “State says that the word in GO “savrajanik suvyavasthe” does not mean “public order”. The official Kannada translation of the Constitution uses this word “sarvajanik suvyavasthe” for “public order”. To which Justice Dixit responded that words in a GO cannot be read like words in a statute.
Justice Krishna Dixit says that the words in a GO cannot be read like a words in a statute.
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) February 15, 2022
Kamat : I respectfully submit that “sarvajanik suvyavasthe” used in GO is not capable of two meanings and means public order.
#KarnatakaHighCourt #Hijab
Kamat then went on to argue on the validity of Article 25 and how it upholds the freedom of practice of religion. To quote Kamat, “The essence of Article 25 is that it protects the practice of faith but not a mere display of religious identity or jingoism.”
Kamat : The essence of Article 25 is that it protects the practise of faith but not a mere display of religious identity or jingoism.#KarnatakaHijabControversy #Hijab
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) February 15, 2022
He then went on to submit some more submissions consisting of orders from secular countries, unlike yesterday when he mentioned judgments of Islamic countries.
Since Kamat went on to add arguments, the court asked what about his assurance of summing up all his arguments in Ten minutes.
CJ to Kamat : Yesterday you said you will take only 10 minutes?
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) February 15, 2022
Kamat : It was my duty to respond to the queries. I have not repeated anything. I will finish soon.
CJ : We are not in a hurry. But you should be in a hurry.#Hijab #KarnatakaHijabControversy
After considering some more arguments and submissions from some more intervenors in the case, the court was adjourned for the day and it was decided to take up the case again tomorrow at 02:30 PM.
Defiance of courts advisein hijab case observed at various places
As the court proceedings are still ongoing, the court advised that all students should stick to the dress code of the educational institutions. But there were several instances reported when people defied the court’s advice and insisted on entry into schools and colleges with hijab/burqa.
Thirteen female students from a Government High School in Karnataka’s Shivamogga district refused to sit the SSLC (Class 10) preparation examination today after their teacher asked them to remove their hijab before entering the classroom.
In another instance, a few students of Karnataka Public School in Nellihudikeri in Kodagu district protested against the hijab ban.
Karnataka | Few students of Karnataka Public School in Nellihudikeri in Kodagu dist. protested against the hijab ban
— ANI (@ANI) February 15, 2022
A man whose niece is a student says, “I’ll bring my niece to school only after the court verdict. Education is important but hijab is most important to us”. pic.twitter.com/MNG1x5XWnU
The hijab debate, which began in a Karnataka pre-university institution, has extended to numerous districts and even other states. The controversy erupted when some Muslim girl students of PU college in Udupi insisted on wearing hijab in classrooms. The college administration refused them access into the classes, citing that any apparel other than the specified uniform is not permitted in the classrooms.
