With the High Court of Karnataka set to deliver the verdict in the hijab row, the district administrations of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Haasan, Davangere, and Shivamogga have ordered schools and colleges to remain shut on Tuesday, March 15. In Dakshina Kannada, while external exams will be conducted as per schedule, internal exams are to be postponed, district collector Dr Rajendra KV said.
Apart from Dakshina Kannada, all schools and colleges have been ordered to be shut in Shivamogga district on Wednesday, March 16, as well. Additionally, after the district witnessed violent protests the day the High Court hearing began, prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure have been imposed till March 21. Similarly, a holiday has been declared for students in Hassan and Davanagere districts as well. Prohibitory orders have been put in place in Hassan from 6 am on Tuesday till 10 pm on March 18.
Additional security forces including eight companies of the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP), six companies of District Armed Reserve forces and one company of Reserved Armed Forces (RAF) have been deployed in Shivamogga district, Superintendent of Police BM Laxmi Prasad said.
In Bengaluru as well, public gatherings, celebrations, or protests have been banned for a week, the Police Commissioner announced on Monday, March 14. The order issued by Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant prohibits any gathering, agitations, protests or celebrations of any type in any public place in Bengaluru for one week, from March 15 to March 21. The Commissioner said that this order is being issued as the hijab row has seen protests and agitations in many places, and the same cannot be ruled out after the Karnataka High Court delivers the verdict.
After hearing the matter for 11 days, the full bench of Justices Krishna S Dixit, JM Khazi, and Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi is expected to deliver the verdict on the case on March 15. The court had reserved its judgment on February 25.