On Tuesday, a three-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court, led by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, will rule on the petitions concerning the controversy over the wearing of hijab in educational institutions. On February 25, the Bench, which also included Justice Krishna S. Dixit and Justice J.M. Khazi, reserved its decision till the hearing on petitions filed by nine Muslim girl students studying at two government pre-university colleges in Udupi district was completed.
Karnataka High Court to declare a verdict on wearing hijab
The petitioner-students asked the Karnataka high court to declare that wearing the hijab (headscarf) within educational institutions was a basic right to religious freedom.
The petitioners’ major argument was that hijab is an Islamic religious requirement for women, and that the government or educational institutions could not prevent them from wearing it while in class. In an interim decision issued on February 10, the Bench barred all students, regardless of religion or faith, from wearing saffron shawls (bhagwa), scarfs, hijab, religious flags, or the like in class until the petitions were resolved.
Initially, the Bench stated that its interim decision was limited to colleges where the College Development Committees had established a dress code/uniform for students. However, in response to a request for clarification from one of the petitioners, the Bench clarified on February 23 that the interim decision only extended to pre-university and degree colleges where the respective authorities had established a dress code.
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