Hours after the Karnataka High Court dismissed the collective pleas by Muslim student petitioners against the ban on wearing the hijab (headscarf) in classrooms, the latter has moved the Supreme Court against the verdict.
The petition filed in the apex court by a Muslim student named Niba Namaz through Advocate Anas Tanvir challenges the Karnataka High Court decision verdict in the hijab case. This challenge came after the High Court upheld the ban on religious symbols in pre-university colleges, stating that the hijab is not an essential practice of the Islamic faith.
The petition claims, that in upholding the ban, the Karnataka High Court “erred in creating a dichotomy of freedom of religion and freedom of conscience.” It goes on to say that the High Court overlooked the fact that the Karnataka Education Act, 1983, and the Rules enacted under it make no provision for students to wear a mandatory uniform.
High Court has failed to note that the Karnataka Education Act, 1983, and the Rules made thereunder, do not provide for any mandatory uniform to be worn by students: Plea challenging #HijabVerdict before Supreme Court #HijabRow
— LawBeat (@LawBeatInd) March 15, 2022
Earlier in the day, the Karnataka High Court had pronounced its verdict in the hijab case filed by Muslim girl students. The court, as per its order, had stated that the hijab is not an essential practice of the Islamic faith. Therefore, all the petitions filed by Muslim girl students seeking permission to wear hijab in educational institutions stands dismissed.
The verdict was pronounced by the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court.
The court found that wearing of hijab is not the essential religious practice of the Islamic faith and the prescription of a uniform is a reasonable restriction on fundamental rights. The court further stated in the order that no case is made out for invalidating the Government Order of February 5.
Karnataka hijab row
Some Muslim students at Karnataka’s Pre University College petitioned the High Court, asking to wear hijab in their classes. They were denied admission to courses because the hijab is not the part of the college’s uniform and so cannot be worn in class. The students have been demonstrating while wearing burqas since then.
After meeting with the Campus Front of India (CFI), the student branch of the Islamist organization Popular Front of India (PFI) in October 2021, Muslim students began wearing hijab and burqa to school and college in violation of uniform requirements.. The students confessed that they had spoken with the CFI.
However, this High Court Verdict is unlikely to settle the issue, as the case is set to go the the Supreme Court. A school’s uniform will be decided by the constitutional court of India.
