On Thursday, the Karnataka High Court passed an interim order in the Hijab ban matter asking the students not to wear anything religious in nature till the disposal of the case.
The Bench of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justices Krishna S Dixit and JM Khazi said that they would pass an order on Monday. However, until the matter is pending, the students and stakeholders will not wear any religious garment or headdress, the Court noted.
“We will pass an order that let the institutions start, but till the matter is pending, these students and stakeholders will not insist on wearing any religious garment or headdress. We will restrain everyone. We want peace and tranquillity…Till the disposal of the matter, you people should not insist on wearing all these religious things. We will restrain everyone (in the interim) from adopting all these practices,” the Court noted.
BREAKING:
— LawBeat (@LawBeatInd) February 10, 2022
CJ Ritu Raj Awasthi tells the lawyers that the court will pass an order asking students not to wear anything religious in nature till the disposal of this case. Peace should be restored he says #HijabRow #HijabBan https://t.co/lpSGLAizAc
The Karnataka Court is hearing a batch of petitions filed by Muslim girl students in the state claiming that the colleges have restricted their entry as they wear hijab. The matter was originally being heard by Justice Dixit, but the judge referred it to a larger Bench on Wednesday, stating that the case involves important issues.
Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde, who appeared for one of the petitioners, said that they would argue on the Constitutional questions raised in the petition and statutory questions and questions on the rules involved in this case.
He claimed that the petitioners were facing discrimination, marked absent and made to stand outside the class since September 2021. He claimed that there is no specific provision in Karnataka Education Act that deals with uniforms. He contended that there is no prescribed penalty for violating the rules framed under the act.
Advocate General Prabhuling Navadgi said that the stand of the government is that the students should adhere to the dress code prescribed by the concerned college. “We want all students to come to college, and classes have to start. So my submission is the issues will be considered by Court but in meanwhile education should commence,” he noted.
Devadatt Kamat, another lawyer from the students, urged the Court to allow the students to attend classes while wearing hijab in the interim until the Court decides the matter. “This is not a harmful practice. These are innocuous practices. It is not like somebody else is being harmed,” Kamat said. However, the court didn’t agree to this plea.
The bench adjourned the hearing in the case till February 14 and said that in the interim, petitioners would not be allowed to wear hijab or any other religious garment to colleges. The Court also urged the student community and the public at large to maintain peace and tranquillity.
