Wearing Hijab Not An Essential Religious Practice, Says Karnataka HC As It Upholds Hijab Ban
Mumbai: Karnataka High Court on Tuesday dismissed writ petitions filed by Muslim girl students seeking permission to wear hijab in colleges. The court held the prescription of uniform as a reasonable restriction, saying that wearing of hijab is not an essential religious practice of the Islamic faith.
A bench of Karnataka High Court comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit, and Justice JM Khazi said that no case is made out for invalidating the Government Order of February 5.
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The hijab controversy began in January this year when the government PU college in Udupi allegedly barred six girls from entering wearing hijab. After this, the girl students protested outside the college after not getting admission.
After this, boys from many colleges of Udupi started attending classes wearing saffron scarves. This protest spread to other parts of the state as well and there were protests and agitations at many places in Karnataka.
Consequently, the Karnataka government said that all students should adhere to the uniform and ban both hijab and saffron scarves until an expert committee decides on the issue.
On February 5, the Board of Pre-University Education issued a circular stating that students can only wear uniforms approved by the school administration and no other religious dress will be allowed in colleges.
The order states that if the uniform is not prescribed by the management committees, the students should wear clothes that match the idea of equality and unity and should not disturb the social order.
A batch of petitions was filed against the government’s decision in the Karnataka High Court to allow some girls to wear the hijab in educational institutions.
A bench of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice JM Khaji of the Karnataka High Court heard the petitions challenging the government rule on dress code.
The High Court on February 10 issued an interim order saying that students should not wear any religious dress in classes until the court issues a final order. The hearing related to the hijab case was concluded on February 25 and the court had reserved its verdict.
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